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PODCAST

Album Mode

Demar Grant & Adriel Smiley

Welcome to Album Mode where journalist, Demar Grant and The Cool Table host, Adriel Smiley breakdown and review the latest albums. Each episode features a new album where both hosts dive in-depth about the project and the artist’s path to its release.

music music commentary

All Episodes

52:53

Tame Impala's "Deadbeat" Follows the Crowd | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/10/24

Démar and Adriel discuss Tame Imala's fifth album "Deadbeat", how Tame Impala became a follower with is production and the decline of a once great artist.Démar’s rating: 5.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 5.5 / 10The Love List: Dracula, Loser, Afterthought, My Old WaysTimecodes:2:44 - Have they ever been mainstream?3:58 - First time hearing Tame Impala8:50 - Adriel’s favourite song11:05 - Demar’s Dad cosigns14:17 - The Singles18:32 - Kevin Parker made a Drake song?20:50 - Afro House attempt24:30 - Best song

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42:46

Khalid is revealed "after the sun goes down" | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/10/19

Démar and Adriel discuss Khalid's fourth studio album "after the sun goes down", his lack of vocal colour and whether his simplistic pop lyrics are a negative.Démar’s rating: 7 / 10Adriel's rating: 4 / 10The Love List: medicine, nah, nobody (make me feel), impulsiveTimecodes:2:20 - Technically still very popular4:18 - Past Khalid Reviews8:44 - Demar compares ‘True’ to Kidz Bop9:50 - R&B Khalid13:20 - ‘Rendezvous’16:48 - Reminds me of…22:44 - Lyrics28:45 - What this means for his career34:30 -

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18:43

Embracing D'Angelo's Influence

Album Mode ·

2025/10/18

The Father of Neo Soul has passed, Adriel and Demar discuss how important he is, why so many different artists are mourning him and how boundless his influence has become in modern music.Follow us: TikTok:Album Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@albummodepod Adriel: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrielsmileydotcomDémar: https://www.tiktok.com/@godkingdemiInstagram: Album Mode: https://www.instagram.com/albummodepod/Adriel: https://www.instagram.com/adrielsmileydotcom/Démar:

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23:00

The Disappointing Diddy Verdict + Nicki vs. Cardi B...

Album Mode ·

2025/10/14

Diddy has escaped the RICO charges but that doesn't mean he's gone unscathed. Also, the duo breakdown the Nicki and Cardi B beef, hip hop is ahead of the "head bitch" archetype but does Nicki know that? Keep it locked here on Album Mode.Follow us: TikTok:Album Mode: https://www.tiktok.com/@albummodepod Adriel: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrielsmileydotcomDémar: https://www.tiktok.com/@godkingdemiInstagram: Album Mode: https://www.instagram.com/albummodepod/Adriel:

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94:52

Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" is a Farce |...

Album Mode ·

2025/10/08

Démar and Adriel discuss Taylor Swift's latest album "The Life of a Showgirl", how Taylor's songwriting has collapsed and why she's chasing the people that she's influenced.Démar’s rating: 2.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 4 / 10The Love List: The Fate of Ophelia, Ruin the FriendshipTimecodes:1:39 - Is the fandom bigger than the music?7:22 - Past Taylor Swift reviews13:30 - Fate of Ophelia16:56 - Actually Romantic28:56 - Pop music in 202530:18 - Honey feels desperate34:44 - Too much ‘stomp/clap’39:48 - Ruin

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46:44

Doja Cat's "Vie" for Pop Appeal is a Success | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/10/03

Démar and Adriel discuss Doja Cat's latest album "Vie", how her singing might have eclipsed her rapping and Janet Jackson's indelible influence on her music.Démar’s rating: 8.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 8 / 10The Love List: Cards, Jealous Type, Take Me Dancing, Acts of Service, Gorgeous, All MineTimecodes:3:03 - Last Doja Car Review7:30 - Best at Pop Rap8:36 - Démar compares Doja Cat to Kyrie Irving14:03 - Unpacking Jack Antonoff22:12 - Adriel calls the album ‘Timeless’26:34 - Lyrics28:27 - ‘Take Me

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72:07

Cardi B's Viscious Bars Make it Clear "AM I THE...

Album Mode ·

2025/10/02

Démar and Adriel discuss Cardi B's latest studio album "AM I THE DRAMA?", how her bars dance on the line of funny and vicious and why she seems to not care about album cohesion.Démar’s rating: 7 / 10Adriel's rating: 6.5 / 10The Love List: Hello, Magnet, Pick It Up, Better Than You, Principal, Imaginary PlayerzTimecodes:2:37 - Démar's Favourite Cardi B verse of all time8:16 - Bodak Yellow was cool12:55 - Invasion of Privacy15:15 - Ranking all-time female MCs23:39 - Imaginary Playerz27:46 - What’s

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63:25

Earl Sweatshirt "Live Laugh Love"s Complexity | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/09/30

Démar and Adriel discuss Earl Sweatshirt's latest studio album "Live Laugh Love", Earl's unorthodox song structures and whether his complexity is worth it for a regular music listener.Démar’s rating: 7 / 10Adriel's rating: 6 / 10The Love List: FORGE, WELDONE!, CRISCO, TOURMALINE, exhaustTimecodes:01:35 - Demar is down on Earl4:59 - FREE EARL8:52 - An album with no singles11:35 - Adriel's favourite Earl song15:28 - Production on Gamma21:16 - Is Static a Drill song?33:31 - Demar on Earl abandoning the

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71:53

Chance the Rapper's 'STAR LINE' is a Lifeline | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/08/25

Démar and Adriel discuss Chance the Rapper's second studio album "STAR LINE", whether it's the comeback album of the year and how Chance the Rapper is underrated as a songwriter.Démar’s rating: 7.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 8 / 10The Love List: Gun In Yo Purse, Back To The Go, The Negro Problem, Ride, No More Old MenTimecodes:4:37 The Big Day8:25 The Success of Coloring Book16:35 Favorite Chance song?23:40 How bad was Hot Shower?28:29 A song only Chance could make32:51 Demar doesn't think Chance is

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63:25

JID Thinks "God Does Like Ugly" And We Do Too | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/08/23

Démar and Adriel discuss JID's fourth studio album "God Does Like Ugly", how his music is now rappable and being able to adapt to sounds he's never done before.Démar’s rating: 6 / 10Adriel's rating: 7 / 10The Love List: Glory, WRK, Gz, SK8, No BooTimecodes:5:30 - His Past Albums6:08 - Surround Sound7:28 - JID & NewJeans9:25 - Highest Charting Single15:18 - Production is the Star of This Album18:13 - JID does R&B well21:22 - Démar compares Westside Gunn to Playboi Carti24:00 - Did they choose

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72:21

"DON'T TAP THE GLASS" Around Tyler, the Creator's...

Album Mode ·

2025/07/24

Démar and Adriel react to Tyler the Creator's latest album "DON'T TAP THE GLASS", discuss whether he's a mainstream artist and if this is his first flop.Démar’s rating: 8.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 5 / 10The Love List: Sucka Free, Ring Ring Ring, I'll Take Care of You, Don't You Worry BabyTimecodes: 3:54 - Tyler does big 1st week numbers 9:19 - Not a concept album13:20 - Past Tyler the Creator reviews15:49 - Favourite Tyler the Creator era17:58 - ‘Ring, Ring, Ring’ should be a single23:43 - A lot of

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57:16

Clipse "Let God Sort Em Out" and Won | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/07/14

Démar and Adriel react to Clipse's latest album, 'Let God Sort Em Out', geriatric hip hop and the idea of artists making hip hop well into their 50sDémar’s rating: 8.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 7.5 / 10The Love List: E.B.I.T.D.A., Ace Trumpets, Let God Sort Em Out/Chandeliers,Timecodes:1:25 - Every corner of the hip-hop world that’s not part of the mainstream was waiting3:40 - Is this album really happening?4:59 - ‘It’s Almost Dry ‘ score6:40 - Playboi Carti comparison7:26 - The rollout is getting so

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52:47

Justin Bieber's "SWAG" is Back | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/07/13

Démar and Adriel react to Justin Bieber's latest album, 'SWAG', Bieber's closeness to the black community and whether he still is that guy we thought he was in the 2010s .Démar’s rating: 5.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 6 / 10The Love List: ALL I CAN TAKE, DAISIES, DADZ LOVE, DEVOTIONTimecodes:5:30 - This album is showing he’s spending time with the black community6:29 - Past Jb review8:29 - Interested in the rollout8:45 - No single/single worthy9:00 - Janet Jackson comparison14:41 - Dijon and Mkgee18:35 -

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50:43

Haim's Songwriting Barely Saves 'I Quit''s Bland...

Album Mode ·

2025/06/30

Démar and Adriel break down Haim's latest album 'I Quit', their closeness to black music and the idea of going 'indie rock mainstream'.Démar’s rating: 6 / 10Adriel's rating: 5.5 / 10The Love List: Gone, Relationships, Spinning, Million YearsTimecodes:1:41- Where does one go after peaking above indie pop mainstream2:26 - In some circles, people know them 4:44 - MJ comparison8:10 - First memory12:28 - This album is kind of like to good and bad of this genre of music 13:24 - Why do you need to reduce

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19:59

'Honestly Nevermind' Has Aged Like Fine Wine 3 Years...

Album Mode ·

2025/06/18

Honestly, Nevermind was met with confusion when it first came out but its fandom has been growing over the past 3 years since it's release. Démar and Adriel do a little bit of a retrospective on the album and look into how it Honestly, Nevermind continues to age like fine wine.Timecodes:0:55 Original review – Demar said in the future people are going to fuck with this2:25 Is a very much do you know ball convo2:50 Setting the scene with the drake albums (CLB etc…)9:18 One of Drake’s best aging

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50:11

Little Simz Blossoms With 'Lotus' | REVIEW

Album Mode ·

2025/06/14

Démar and Adriel break down Little Simz's sixth studio album 'Lotus', how the production sounds nothing like a hip hop album and whether this is Simz's best written album.Démar’s rating: 9 / 10Adriel's rating: 9 / 10The Love List: Thief, Hollow, Free, Blood, Lotus, LonelyTimecodes:3:08 - The view over her career because she is from the UK4:55 - Black Thought comparison as a rapper6:09 - 7:39 - That’s their Dominic Fike10:38 - Thief sets the tone for the album11:35 - Non-Traditional Hip-Hop beats in

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56:39

Miley Cyrus' Raspy Voice is 'Something Beautiful' |...

Album Mode ·

2025/06/06

Démar and Adriel break down Miley Cyrus' ninth (!!) studio albuim 'Something Beautiful', how her voice allows her to make music beyond her years and how underrated she is as a songwriter.Démar’s rating: 8 / 10Adriel's rating: 6.5 / 10The Love List: Prelude, End of the World, More to Lose, Easy Lover, RebornTimecodes:3:23 - Hannah Montana – moved past that8:44 - Did they get it right with the singles?9:14 - End of the world10:03 - Under-rated songwriter10:49 - Reborn – 80’s revivalist track13:19 -

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62:48

Common's 'Be' is an Instant Classic That Still Holds...

Album Mode ·

2025/05/31

Démar and Adriel break down Common's classic album 'Be', how much hip hop production has changed in the past 20 years and how intricate "real rap" was in 2005.Démar’s rating: 8 / 10Adriel's rating: 8.5 / 10The Love List: Be (Intro), The Corner, GO!, The Food, They SayTimecodes:3:16 - Listening as an adult has a different tone4:25 - Song bigger than the album5:48 - Common’s longevity6:36 - The Soulquarians are a real supergroup8:49 - My Way Home10:45 - His relationship with Erykah Badu (BE)11:55 -

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50:29

'13 Months of Sunshine' Cements Aminé's Summer Status...

Album Mode ·

2025/05/25

This week Démar and Adriel discuss Aminé's third studio album '13 Months of Sunshine', Aminé cementing himself as a summer artist and how mortal enemies Drake and Pusha T are his main influences.Démar’s rating: 8 / 10Adriel's rating: 8.5 / 10The Love List: 13MOS, Feels So Good, New Flower!, Cool About It, TemptationsTimcodes:2:42 - Previous Aminé album rating – surprised how high5:00 - Feels like an extension of Kaytraminé8:13 - Drake influence10:04 - Production is the star10:39 - Aminé is a fun

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50:13

Kali Uchis' 'Sincerely' is a Reversion to Glory Days...

Album Mode ·

2025/05/19

This week Démar and Adriel discuss Kali Uchis' latest album 'Sincerely,' how she's tracing her musical lineage throughout the album and whether her reversion is worth it.Démar’s rating: 8.5 / 10Adriel's rating: 7.5 / 10The Love List: Illegal, Tonight, Noises, Stateside,Timecodes:1:34 - Demar’s favourite women's weekend5:40 - No Features6:39 - Song structure 10:40 - thinks it has regressed a little14:00 - Sunshine and Rain/pocket of drums16:17 - Pre R&B20:40 - For you22:19 - It sounds like silk

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