2026 Album #002: Hyd - Hold Onto Me Infinity

If you have any recommendations for me of albums released this year you'd like me to listen to, tell me! I'm randomly picking those albums I think I would find interesting or are big albums that were released this year. So if there's something you want me to check out, let me know.

Hyd - Hold Onto Me Infinity:

Angel: This is more my style. Well, we don't need to talk about being a baddie, but still. Well, I thought it was more my style at the start, but now I just think it's cringe and just feels way too goofy? Like, it just feels...wrong. I don't like it, surprisingly. All of it from the vocals to the production to the lyrics is way too goofy. Longtime readers will know I hate baby vocals and some of this comes close to that. Also, like, repetition often happens in these types of songs, but it was grating here. 4/10

Freak: The production is much better here. Dark and cunty. Love it. Hyd's vocals may not be my jam. Or...I do like the more spoken parts, that chorus had an interesting chorus to it. You know what, this is a good song. It won me over. Hyd's vocals are probably the worst part of it...so hopefully I can get to grips with that. 7/10

Grounded: We're going more abrasive here production wise. The start was not really my favourite. There's some really interesting production elements in the background that I enjoy, although not as much as Freak, and the vocals...are not as good. There's some nice switchups in the song too. A very interesting song, and a nice transition at the end (was that a bird?), but not quite there for me. 6/10

Physical Stuff: It feels like Hyd's vocals fit more here. It's a 'sad hyperpop' type song that I'm used to. The switchup was...not expected. I'm not sure I'm here for it, really. Some of the production is quite interesting again, especially the 'down' section. But...I'm still not really a major fan. It was nice but not that good. 6/10

Watch You Cry: It's just a mediocre song honestly. Not really much to say about it. The vocals are...meh. The production is...meh. It's mediocre. 5/10

Makeover: Where was this the whole time? Really strong start production wise! The type of bop I need! The vocals are still not my favourite though. The production is great though, it's both boppy and distorted in a fantastic way. I just saw that it's a collaboration with SOPHIE, that's beautiful. Makes sense I enjoyed it a lot more. The talking parts and the chorus are a lot better as well. The vocals in the other parts...eh. But it's made up for by the fantastic production and the better parts of the song. 7/10

Looking Up I See a Cloud: This is a nice slower song, and honestly, despite my criticism of the vocals (which still are not the best here), I feel like they work better here. They're raw and they fit an emotional vibe like this well. This song really reminded me of SOPHIE for some reason, I don't know if that was intentional or not, but if it was, that is beautiful. She is forever missed. This song actually made me tear up a bit, which is fantastic. I love a song that makes me feel things. It was a touching song. It was quite 'basic' compared to a lot of the rest of the album, but honestly, that makes it more powerful for me. 8/10

Take Care of Me: This also feels better on the vocal front. Some really nice production again - it's both relaxing but also not. Good song. Although in parts it does feel a bit too 'full', I did enjoy it. 7/10

Light Span: This is a good song (despite it being very short!). This is the lengths of some interludes. Maybe this is kinda one? This really reminds me of Caroline Polachek for some reason, especially the vocals. Some really interesting production too. Good song. 7/10

Make Me Believe: Strong start. This is what I've been waiting for the whole time! I love the production on this, and the vocals are even alright here. There's some parts that are perhaps a bit too high pitched, but I can let it slide. Great song! The chorus is a lot stronger than the verses, I wish it kept it up the whole time. While I really do like this song, I feel like there's enough of it that I don't like that prevents me from rating it higher. Like the non-chorus parts of the song not being as good, and some of the vocals. But it's still great! 8/10

Never Is Over: I like the distortion here. It makes an interesting contrast. Another slower song too, it seems. I like this song. It's a beautiful song. 7/10

Shine It: This was a good closing song to the album. Not sure why I enjoyed the later parts of the album more but I did. Some interesting production here. The vocals are still the weakest part for me but this is a great song. 8/10

Overall Verdict: What could have been if I actually liked Hyd's vocals? Their vocals drag down the whole project for me, unfortunately. They are noticeably not great in many of the songs. Not all of them, and sometimes their vocals work fantastically in some of the songs. But it's unfortunately plenty of the album. The production, meanwhile, for the majority of the album was super interesting. This is the sort of album I'd expect to like considering Hyd's PC Music links, and unsurprisingly, I do. I just wish I liked their vocals! Arghhhhh!

Favourite lyric: "Once a cloud / Now you're rain / Now you're water in the ground / Coming down to touch my face / Even though you're not around / You're all around" (Looking Up I See a Cloud)

This just seemed really pretty and touching. It can be very touching to imagine people as parts of the world around us, and that they can still touch us through the physical manifestations of the world. So things like this are very personal and emotional, I feel. These lines in particular stood out to me for that reason.

Least favourite lyric: "A baddie through and through" (Angel)

Again, this falls into the 'it doesn't matter what you intended with the lyric if it makes me cringe'. Putting this sort of cringe worthy lyric as the very first line of the album is a choice, and it definitely threw me off. There's ways you can use this exact lyric and it would not make me cringe (although I don't know how many there are exactly), but this was not the way to do it. It just feels...wrong.