ALBUM REVIEWS JULY 2016

By the time you're reading this it'll probably be a tad later than usual. I had three albums lined up that I intended to review from July but after closer listening and more albums dropping throughout the month I decided to swap two of those out for some better, more interesting picks. In the interest of actually giving the albums some proper time and attention before I write about them this post will be fashionably late. I also had to rewrite two reviews that somehow disappeared despite the fact that Blogger autosaves and I manually clicked the save button. I might be just a bit mad about that. It's okay, that version of this post only contained pure musical insight, the meaning of life and the identity of the Zodiac Killer but it's gone now so oh well. 

Sincere apologies to all four* of my readers and whoever the hell it is that reads this in France (Google stats tell me all).

*not really, this blog actually attracts more eyeballs (and hopefully ears) than I thought it would so thank you

Oh Pep! - Stadium Cake

Genre: folk, pop

Favourite tracks: 'Bushwick', 'Wanting', 'Doctor Doctor', 'Trouble Now', 'Tea Milk & Honey', 'The Situation', 'The Race', '7 Babies', 'Afterwards'

This is the debut full length album from Melbourne based folk-pop duo Oh Pep! Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, Stadium Cake offers up some of the most infectiously listenable and refreshing folk-pop in recent memory. 

Often playful, sometimes introspective, Oh Pep! manage to create music that exemplifies the characteristics of the genre while still being distinct. There's a quiet confidence to the songwriting and performances on this album that makes each song a well crafted and fully realised piece of a free flowing, complete project. Not a single track here falls flat, each song offers its own interesting musical ideas and hooks that don't feel tiresome even after a few listen throughs. The instrumental performances carry their own intrigue, brilliantly fitted to each song and carefully composed in their own right. 

Oh Pep! never lean on lazy songwriting or cliches on Stadium Cake and the result is a collection of mature yet playful and infectiously catchy songs. This one is worth a listen for sure and I eagerly anticipate Oh Pep!'s follow up to what is a stunning debut.

You can listen to 'Doctor Doctor' here:

Thank You Scientist - Stranger Heads Prevail

Genre: progressive rock, jazz fusion

Favourite tracks: 'Mr Invisible', 'A Wolf in Cheap Clothing', 'Blue Automatic', 'Rube Goldberg Variations'

Following up their 2014 debut Maps of Non-Existent Places, Thank You Scientist have put together another winding journey through their own brand of jazz-infused prog rock.  

Perhaps not as focused on big guitar riffs and shred fests this time around, the band really lets the improvisational style jazz take the foreground for a lot of this album. The tracks are fairly long, with some taking the listener for a genuinely engaging ride along the blend of prog rock and technically complex jazz performances while other tracks wander a bit too much and don't really earn their run time. The various and sometimes lengthy guitar, saxophone and violin solos, while impressive, can cause some of the tracks to lose focus but when the band strikes a balance between the rock and jazz elements of their sound this album really comes into its own. 

The vocals are too often the weak point on this album as well. There isn't much variety in the vocal delivery and I feel some of these songs would greatly benefit from a bit more punch here and there. There is a hint at an overarching concept behind this album but to be honest the lyrics aren't strong enough to leave me feeling a need to delve further into it and tease out exactly what that concept really is.

While there are exciting and interesting moments on this album, some of the tracks drag on with ideas that aren't strong enough to carry the song through.There are some solid tracks and impressive performances to be found here but as a complete package Stranger Heads Prevail is a tad unjustifiably long winded. 

You can listen to 'Mr Invisible' here:

2814 - Rain Temple

Genre: ambient, electronic, vaporwave

Favourite tracks: 'Before the Rain', 'Lost in a Dream', 'Transference', 'Inside the Sphere'

Vaporwave, maybe the perfect example of microgenre labelling gone mad, is a genre that I'm always apprehensive to talk about because it's so loosely defined. Not to mention that it's practically relegated to meme hell and seen as a joke about silly hipster music genres. 2814 sit squarely in the vaporwave scene despite not fitting into the nostalgic elevator music cliche ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ* of the genre. 

*I couldn't help it

If you're a vaporwave naysayer, don't be turned off 2814. You could drop the vaporwave label from this album altogether because it's first and foremost a properly nuanced and constructed ambient album. The focus of Rain Temple is the expansive soundscapes and build of sonic ideas. Musically, the tracks hinge on very minimalist and repetitive phrases with the drama and motion coming from the introduction of new elements and effects to round out the feel 2814 are going for. The sense of atmosphere is believable, dense and consistent throughout the entire album. 

Rain Temple is a nuanced trip through the haunting sounds of a futuristic city. While it doesn't offer anything particularly distinct in its musical ideas or sonic palette, this is a captivating and well constructed ambient album. Check this one out if you're looking for something atmospheric to play in the background. 

You can listen to the album in its entirety here:

And there we have it. I hope there was some variety in this month's roundup and if you read this far you hopefully found something interesting.

I have a list of new releases I'm eager to listen to so we'll see what shows up in next month's post!

Thanks for reading and have nice day :)

ALBUM REVIEWS JUNE 2016

There were a few albums I really liked from the month of June. Here a few you might not have heard of. Enjoy :)

Mark Kozelek Sings Favourites

Genre: easy listening, lounge, covers

Favourite tracks: 'Send in the Clowns', 'I'm Not in Love', 'Mainstreet', 'Get Along Home Cindy', 'Float On' 

I make no secret of my adoration for Mark Kozelek, especially his output over the past few years. As a songwriter he's top class, notable for weaving fleshed out stories into his lyrics. This latest release, however, is an album of covers taking a range of songs and reimagining them as solely piano and vocal arrangements with a lounge atmosphere. 

In his work as Sun Kil Moon, Kozelek is not exactly known for his vocal chops or technical singing ability but rather the content of the songs themselves. While these covers obviously lack his own personal touch in their writing, Kozelek really plays to the strengths of his vocal ability, even if that ability is not particularly varied. Paired with the careful piano arrangements, the vocal performances still manage to convey the same sense of sincerity, melancholy, and raw emotion we expect from Kozelek. That is the real strength of this collection of covers, especially on the tracks that are pretty standard arrangements of songs that have been done to death many times before. 

Despite being a pretty straight up and down collection of covers, this album works brilliantly as a comforting listen from its warm version of jazz standard 'Send in the Clowns' to the slow, relaxing cover of Modest Mouse's 'Float On'. It's a bit self indulgent and occasionally offers up a cover that is unimaginative but hey, these are still great songs performed in a particular way that really strikes a certain mood and feeling. 

You can listen to 'Send in the Clowns' here:

Shook - Continuum

Genre: electronic, jazz

Favourite tracks: 'Infinite', 'Remember', 'Tidal', 'Traces', 'Within', 'Don't Worry, It's Okay'

I've played through this one a bunch of times this past month and have really enjoyed the occasionally frenetic but well composed piano and synth based sound Shook has created. At times it's very intimate and evocative while also offering some pretty lively tracks with a bit of a Daft Punk and general chill house vibe. 

The technical and jazzy piano playing is the driving force behind this album, backed up by wide synths and drums that elevate the compositions and give them a grand sense of scale.While most of the tracks build these spacey soundscapes there's still enough of a groove to grab on to and carry you along. It's very free flowing and melodically infectious with each track leaning on a very similar atmosphere but still sounding like distinct parts of a whole unified project. 

This is the kind of album you can crank up and just lose yourself in. It makes great music to play in the background or just kick back and relax.

You can listen to 'Remember' here:

Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow

Genre: alternative rock, shoegaze, noise rock, post-grunge

Favourite tracks: 'Fever Queen', 'Vertigo Flowers', 'A.C.D. (Abcessive Compulsive Disorder)', 'Nineteen Ninety Heaven', 'Curse of the Sun', 'Tired of Tomorrow'

I've given this one a decent amount of time but despite the better songs I can't really call it solid the whole way through. The noisey walls of sound that underpin this whole album carry their own level of intensity and are broken up by some melodic lead guitar lines and riffs but it also leaves the weaker tracks on the album feeling too similar to be memorable in any way. 

When it comes together I really like the noisy, shoegazy (is that a word? it is now) thing Nothing has going on. It's infused with enough solid musical ideas to not get bogged down in the sometimes sludgy wall of sound and reverb the band is throwing together. It manages to bring the right kind of intensity to these songs and the band knows when to pare it back to suit individual songs. The soft, dreamy vocals too often feel like the weak point on this album, not because they are soft and dreamy but because they are always soft and dreamy and never vary to fit the intensity of the instrumentals.

At their core the songs carry some pretty poppy hooks and it seems as though the band is trying to hide some of the weaker ideas and more predictable chord progressions behind the noisey aesthetic, but there are some solid songs to be found on this album. 

You can listen to 'Fever Queen' here:

That'll do it for this month. Hope you enjoyed this selection of  lesser known albums from the last month. 

Have nice day :) 

ALBUM REVIEWS - MAY 2016

I've been flat out with uni but luckily May provided a bunch of solid albums to accompany the late nights and stress. Below are a few you may* have missed. Give em a listen :)
*groan

Hunter as a Horse - The Two Magics, Vol. 1

Genre: alternative, electronic, folk, dream pop

Favourite tracks: 'The Abyss', 'The Passenger', 'Fallen Leaves'

This is the debut EP from Hunter as a Horse, an up and coming alternative and electronic duo from Germany.  This is a short one, clocking in at just under 20 minutes but I thought I'd give it a mention since I think there's some real promise in the tracks on this EP. 

The whole EP oozes this distinct character. It's dark but free flowing and lively with layers of synthesizers and tightly produced drums. The vocals are soothing and do their job of fleshing out these tracks, despite occasionally sounding a little too emotionless and disconnected. On the one hand this vocal style doesn't show a lot of range and I'm concerned about how this style would carry on a full length release, but on the other hand it fits the tone of the songs pretty well.

A couple of the lyrical hooks are a bit cliché or repetitive, but I really dig this EP for the unique little bunch of songs that it is. I'm keen to see what these guys do next. 

You can listen to 'The Passenger' here:

Marissa Nadler - Strangers

Genre: singer-songwriter, dream pop

Favourite tracks: 'Katie I Know', 'Hungry is the Ghost', 'Strangers', 'Janie in Love', 'Nothing Feels the Same', 'Dissolve'

This is my first proper dive into the music of singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler. At its core, this album is a collection of solid, well written songs that I imagine would be just as suited to an acoustic set as they are to the dreamy sonic backdrops on this LP.

What sets this album apart is the detailed instrumentation and reverb-laden production that gives the whole album an ethereal air of melancholic introspection. The solid song writing meets this slightly dark shade of dream pop that perfectly complements Marissa's voice and acoustic guitar playing. I really like how her voice is processed, especially on the tracks that involve some clever overdubbing as Marissa's voice is stacked into glorious harmonies. It never feels too busy and lets her vocals and the songs themselves sing through during the more sonically sparse moments on the album. 

If you're in the mood for something a little slow and dreamy, I'd highly recommend giving this one a go. 

You can listen to 'Janie in Love' here:

Andy Stott - Too Many Voices

Genre: electronic, IDM

Favourite tracks: 'Butterflies', 'Forgotten', 'Selfish', 'On My Mind', 'Too Many Voices'

Andy Stott made waves in the IDM world with his last two albums, 'Luxury Problems' and 'Faith in Strangers'. His music has been fairly recognisable for its sluggish tempos, hard thumping bass, and whispery vocals. While Andy's previous work has always featured long, minimalist build ups before crashing waves of bass and layered textures, this new album mostly favours a more open sound. The tracks on this album feature far more spacious mixes that are far less heavy and aggressive in the bottom end. There's not quite as much going on as there usually is in Andy's music, but that's not always a bad thing. 

This makes for an overall package that some might say is just a collection of underdeveloped ideas, and in regard to some of these tracks that might be a fair call. I personally think the more minimal approach and open, breathing mixes give this album a kind of quirk and personality that sets it apart from Andy's previous work. For me, the real crowning jewel of this project is the title track 'Too Many Voices'. It's like the work of some slightly deranged synthetic choir, layering voices on top of voices with no way of telling what's an actual vocal performance and what is chopped and edited samples. The whole track is brilliantly crafted and mesmerising in its own weirdly catchy way.

This album isn't amazing the whole way through, but I personally like this detour from Andy Stott's usual sound and there are some great tracks to be found here. 

You can listen to 'Too Many Voices' here:

Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

Genre: experimental hip-hop, industrial, noise

Favourite tracks: 'Giving Bad People Good Ideas', 'Hot Head', 'Spikes', 'Eh', 'Trash', 'BB Poison', 'Three Bedrooms in a Good Neighborhood', '80808'

I know that people interested in the genre are probably all over this one already but it would be wrong to omit this album from this list. This is another savage, relentless and undeniably consistent album from the critically renowned experimental hip hop group Death Grips. 

I'll be honest, it's hard to articulate exactly what it is about their music that I find so appealing. It's loud, aggressive, and downright filthy but manages to also be catchy and sonically pleasing at the same time. I think it's the way their music is so unrestrained yet simultaneously so focussed that makes Death Grips unlike anyone else out there right now. This whole album is exactly what Death Grips fans have come to expect and not a single track disappoints. It's the perfectly measured levels of ferocity and abrasiveness that make this album, much like their previous releases, a listening experience like no other. Death Grips continue to be the most innovative group in hip hop. 

If you're a hip hop fan that has somehow missed the experimental juggernaut of Death Grips thus far, jumping on this album would be a good idea.

-

There were a couple of albums that dropped in the last week of May that I'll include next month. 

If you enjoyed this selection of albums or think there was a gem I missed let me know. And if you share this post with your friends you will get a lifetime supply of chicken nuggets. As usual, 100% legit no scam offer.*

*by that I mean 100% bullshit, this joke isn't even funny any more 

ALBUM REVIEWS APRIL 2016

This was another super busy month in terms of new releases. To be honest, a lot of the albums I listened to were a bit underwhelming and I don't have a whole lot to say about them. I like to review music that deserves and invites discussion. I see no point in featuring albums that are already receiving significant attention or that I don't have anything to say about beyond some comments about why it left me indifferent.

Anyway, here are some album reviews. Enjoy.

Mogwai - 'Atomic'

Genre: post-rock, soundtrack

Favourite tracks: 'Ether', 'Bitterness Centrifuge', 'Pripyat', 'Are You A Dancer?'

This latest album from Scottish post-rock juggernauts Mogwai is actually the soundtrack to a documentary that examines the progression of the atomic age. No strangers to scoring film and TV (their score for the French TV series 'Les Revenants' is remarkable), Mogwai have done more than put together a solid post-rock album. 'Atomic', though entirely instrumental, tells a story. From the opening track 'Ether' to its closer 'Fat Man', this album glides between the exciting promise of the atomic age to its most haunting disasters.

While Mogwai's music has never been particularly upbeat, 'Atomic' is clearly one of their more sombre works. There is a sense of wonder and dread underpinning this whole album that no one moment is without. This is Mogwai's great achievement with 'Atomic'. The album invokes its subject matter perfectly yet Mogwai still sound like themselves - they never let their music become too bogged down in the strict concept behind these songs. 

The grand sweeping strings and looming horns on this album are all carefully placed among the guitar and drum heavy arrangement Mogwai fans are used to. There is a distinct blending of Mogwai's signature sound with new elements that gives this album a sense of character and pace. The arrangements feel just as lively on the album's more sparse and pretty tracks such as 'Are You A Dancer' as they do on the more sonically dense songs on offer such as 'Bitterness Centrifuge'. 

'Atomic' is intriguing and captivating from start to finish. As a Mogwai album and as a meditation on the advantages and pitfalls of living in an atomic world, this album triumphs with elegance. 

You can listen to 'Ether' here:

Tim Hecker - 'Love Streams'

Genre: electronic, ambient, experimental

Favourite tracks: 'Violet Monumental I', 'Violet Monumental II', 'Castrati Stack', 'Voice Crack'

I have a huge amount of respect for Tim Hecker. He is responsible for some of my favourite ambient albums, including the astonishing 'Ravedeath 1972' which I still listen to fairly frequently. His music has always managed to create whole worlds of sound that blur the line between synthetic and authentic. 

'Love Streams' is immediately recognisable as a bit of a side-step from the style Tim Hecker has been known for thus far. This album leans more heavily on starkly electronic elements. From the opening track the listener is treated to a bright synth playing wild arpeggios. As Tim Hecker likes to do, he fleshes out these tracks with a mixture of slightly dissonant sounds both acoustic and electronic. 

On his past works, his ability to create challenging and evocative soundscapes has been Tim Hecker's strength. On 'Love Streams' I don't feel this extensive palette of sounds comes together in the challenging yet coherent way we expect from Tim Hecker. The broad strokes that emerge from the build of layered minutiae don't always result in something that feels particularly intriguing or well thought out. Occasionally there are ideas that come together as interesting sonic or textural moments on this album, but there seems to be a lack of direction with regards to the structure of these tracks and the album as a whole. Many reach a point of critical mass and sort of fade out without any real feeling of completeness. Compared to Tim Hecker's previous albums, this leaves 'Love Streams' feeling a bit disjointed and not very cohesive.

What I love about Tim Hecker's music is its ability to be challenging yet painfully evocative. There can be so much going on yet from track to track his albums are mesmerising in their build and execution of ambitious sonic ideas. 'Love Streams' didn't give me that feeling of focus and connectedness, leaving even its most interesting moments floating out in the open on their own.

You can listen to 'Castrati Stack' here:

Cicada - 'Farewell'

Genre: contemporary classical

Favourite tracks: 'Farewell (In a Pretentious Way)', 'Happily Ever After?', 'Breakaway', 'Meteoric Night', 'Boom Boom', 'What Do I Do'

I had previously never heard of Cicada, a contemporary classical group from Taiwan. As I understand it, this album consists of a selection of their earlier compositions chosen for their thematic connections rerecorded and collected into this new full length LP. If I hadn't have read that I would never have picked that this is a compilation album of sorts. The whole album feels so specifically attuned to this melancholic story of loss that it really conveys a sense of movement both musically and thematically.  

The arrangement of Cicada's music is fairly stripped down. The band consists of a violinist, cellist, acoustic guitarist and pianist. I feel the steel string guitar adds a folk flavour not usually encountered in the genre, but other than that this album isn't offering anything particularly unique. It is simply a shining example of brilliant musicianship and composition. Each track is distinct and eventful, astonishingly pretty and elegant with a touch of melodrama. It's introspective music for a rainy day or a relaxing evening that stands firmly on its own passages of understated piano tinkling and gripping string melodies.  

'Farewell' is a delightful collection of compositions that is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. I will definitely be delving into Cicada's back catalogue as soon as possible. 

You can listen to 'Farewell (In a Pretentious Way)' here:

That'll have to do it for this month. I really should be doing assignments. I also just realised that none of these albums contain words. So there ya go. 

If you enjoy this blog share it with your friends and you'll get two free tickets to see Shark Tale 2 in 3D**. No scam.

Have nice day :)

** not actually a real movie. And even if it was... come on. 

NEW ALBUMS MARCH 2016

Wellllllll there has been an unbelievable amount of new music this month. To the point that I'm yet to have a chance to properly digest it all, or even locate it all for that matter, so a couple of albums will have to wait till next month. 

In the spirit of this blog, I won't be reviewing the new releases I know you've probably already heard/seen elsewhere. Instead, here are a few new albums you might have missed from the last month. Enjoy :)

GoGo Penguin - 'Man Made Object'

Genre: jazz, contemporary classical, experimental

Favourite tracks: 'All Res', 'Unspeakable World', 'Weird Cat', 'Initiate'

This is the first release from Manchester based jazz piano trio GoGo Penguin since they signed with the famed Blue Note Records. Their first two releases garnered much deserved critical praise for their infectiously catchy, jazzy, and modern instrumental compositions. Blending elements of electronica and trip-hop into an all-acoustic, traditional setting, GoGo Penguin's music is mesmerising in its complexity and virtuosity. On top of all that, it's melodically poppy and memorable. 

The full range of the band's talents are on display on this new album, from the rhythmically intense drumming to the emotionally charged piano playing. GoGo Penguin's music often sounds like the most perfect jam sesh ever: it feels spontaneous yet still proves itself to be finely polished and playfully clever. That being said, I don't feel the same level of energy in this collection of tracks compared to their previous albums. There are some stellar, solid songs that are impressive in all the same ways, but this album doesn't hit the same level of mind-bending intensity as often as their previous album '2.0'. Regardless, this is a consistent release and more GoGo Penguin is never a bad thing. I've listened to this album many times this month and will no doubt return to it in the future.

This is a group that's definitely worth checking out. Starting with this latest LP or their previous release '2.0' will give you a good idea of what these guys are all about.

You can listen to 'All Res' here: 

Lushlife/CSLSX - 'Ritualize' 

Genre:experimental hip-hop 

Favourite tracks: 'Hong Kong (Lady of Love)', 'Incantation', 'The Ecstatic Cult', 'Burt Reynolds (Desert Visions)'

Features from the likes of Ariel Pink and Killer Mike were enough to draw me to this new, and very ambitious, project from the mostly unknown rapper/producer Lushlife. Bringing in a wide range of contributing producers and rappers, 'Ritualize' pulls together interesting ideas and some amazing tracks here and there but never feels like a cohesive listening experience.

From the outset I was excited by the angle this album seemed to be taking. The dreamily processed pianos and downtempo beats feel like a homage to the production style of Nujabes, perhaps not as clean or streamlined, but still a riff on the work of a producer I absolutely adore. And moments of this album do in fact pull off the introspective, overly pretty instrumental style to great effect. We also hear some very poppy glistening, glassy synths on a few tracks on this album along with the grimy, wet synthwave-style production on the Ariel Pink feature track 'Hong Kong (Lady of Love)'. 

For the most part, the production choices and musical ideas are intriguing despite the lack of consistency across tracks (to be expected on an album so laden with collaborators). Unfortunately, a number of the tracks are let down by Lushlife's lyricism and delivery. His rapping is competent but also pretty mono-tonal. He seems to only have one speed, one flow, one setting on his own verbal amplifier. Each verse feels a lot like the last and more like a way of getting from X musical idea/hook to Y rather than an interesting aspect of the song in its own right (the one exception to this that comes to mind is the track 'Burt Reynolds (Desert Visions)'. His voice often feels like it's just there, which is a real shame for the tracks that string together some excellent production but aren't backed up by solid verses. Of course, there are some pretty incredible verses from the guest rappers on this album, especially Deniro Farrar and Killer Mike. 

If you have an interest in the softer side of hip-hop, check this one out. There are some genuinely excellent tracks on offer that I know I'll be coming back to. 

You can listen to 'The Ecstatic Cult (feat. Killer Mike)' here:

Gramatik - 'Epigram'

Genre: electronic, dubstep, future funk, hip-hop

Favourite tracks: 'Satoshi Nakamoto', 'Native Son Prequel', 'Eat Liver!', 'Back to the Future', 

New York-based producer Gramatik has really put himself out there these last couple of years. Between a steady stream of his own releases and the establishment of his very own Lowtemp record label last year, he has managed to establish himself as a heavy-hitter in the world of electronic music. Never one to conform to one current trend, Gramatik dabbles in electro-swing, trip-hop, future funk, house and dubstep (and as is the case with this new album, a combination of some or all of the above). 

This album leans harder on higher impact, dirtier, dubstep-influenced passages than a lot of Gramatik's other work. While the high-energy bass-fests that sprinkle this whole album grab your attention, they occasionally feel like the remnants of a trend in electronic music that has come and gone. When they work, Gramatik's dubstep passages feel like a perfect synthesis of a once-beloved genre and his own, more nuanced production style, combining lots of bassy wubs with some smooth guitars, brass and strings. As is to be expected, Gramatik's style shines through truest when he is building jazzy, downtempo beats that let the mix breathe organically, rather than the somewhat chaotic dubstep style which can contend too much with the vocals and other instruments. The dubstep influence isn't wholly distracting, it just feels like it works better when it is pared back a bit, such as the track 'Eat Liver!', compared to when Gramatik lets himself run wild into ideas that are too hectic and loose to be interesting beyond serving as a drop. 

I'm a little mixed on how I feel about this album as a whole. Some of the tracks are really well balanced and interesting, others don't let the originality of Gramatik's production style really shine through. Perhaps my lukewarm response to a lot of the heavier moments on this album are more of a personal preference thing, or maybe these crazy wubs and drops are supposed to be banged out over club speakers and not carefully listened to. As with all of Gramatik's music, you can download this album for free of his website and have a listen for yourself. 

You can listen to 'Back to the Future (feat. ProbCause)' here:

Denzel Curry - 'Imperial'

Genre: hip-hop, trap, cloud rap

Favourite tracks: 'ULT', 'Sick and Tired', 'Knotty Head', 'Narcotics', 'Pure Enough', 'This Life'

This is the full length follow up to Denzel Curry's very well received debut 'Nostalgic 64'. Known for his ferocious, aggressive vocal delivery, Denzel spits out edgy, angry raps over trap beats and dreamy samples. The full extent of his technical prowess makes its way onto 'Imperial' as he proves himself a worth contender in the crowded world of hip-hop. 

Denzel doesn't just rap fast, he raps smart. His flows alternate and evolve thoughtfully, with care and attention to how the rhythm of his lyrics mesh with the instrumentals on these tracks. Never without a fire in his throat, Denzel Curry drives 'Imperial' along with relentless passion making this album a dense, hard-hitting listening experience. Among the ten tracks on this album are some brilliantly written verses and some of Denzel's catchiest vocal refrains and hooks. Occasionally the lyrics fall into some cliches of the hardcore hip-hop world, with some tracks dealing with robbery, drug dealing, drug taking etc. But for the most part this album feels raw, authentic and focussed on delivering a musical vision from a unique artist. 

This is a solid album from front to back. It's savage, sometimes dark, and full of gritty, ferocious verses. Fans of hip-hop would be doing themselves a disservice by passing this one up. This is an artist who's just getting started, I expect we'll see a lot more of Denzel Curry over the next few years. 

You can listen to 'ULT' here:

This month was crazy busy with new releases. I hope you enjoyed this selection of albums. I try to feature albums that are little more obscure but still deserve attention in the hopes of introducing people to something new, so I've chosen not to include the big mainstream releases from March. That doesn't mean I didn't like them or ignore them like some kind of hipster music snob, I just think this blog is better suited to showcasing the stuff that's a bit off the beaten track. You can find that other stuff anywhere. 

There have already been some pretty great albums this year, but nothing so far has blown me away. Maybe that will change next month with new albums from Tim Hecker and Mogwai, two albums I've been anticipating for a while. 

Thanks heaps for reading. Everyone who shares this blog or comments an album they enjoyed from the last month will receive actual superpowers. No joke. 100% legit offer ***

Have nice day :) 

*** of course it's a joke why are you even reading this tiny text? 

FEBRUARY 2016 - ALBUM ROUNDUP

I don't think I have anything music related to rant about this month... so here are some album reviews.

Moth Equals - One Tusk

Genre: trip-hop, down tempo, electronic

Favourite tracks: 'Cordiform', 'Aim to Get Caught', 'Gone', 'If it Keeps on Raining'

This is a little gem I stumbled upon on Bandcamp and has been my go-to chill out/chuck on in the background music this month. For the most part, Moth Equals doesn't deviate from the trip-hop/down tempo mould. However, there are some unique ideas on this album that make it stand out from the slew of what I think of as innocuous hipster cafe music. 

From a rhythmic point of view, the drum beats are fairly straight forward and typical. What really grabs the listener's attention is the vast textural palette and influences Moth Equals has used to build these tracks. Using a variety of acoustic and electronic instruments and sampling, each track is a growing soundscape with a clear, designed goal in mind. Dreamy and mesmerising in its detail and soft instrumentation, One Tusk gives us some real gems throughout its runtime. This includes the track 'If it Keeps on Raining' which very cleverly reuses the hook from Led Zeppelin's 'When the Levee Breaks". 

Some aspects of this album's production are very safe, but it does just enough to feel like its own beast. My only real gripe with this album is the use of random audio clips that seem to have been taken from TV shows or movies. They are a tad jarring among the carefully paced compositions on the album and seem like a vain attempt to give this album a sense of profundity it didn't need. 

This one's great as background music or for a close listen. Definitely check it out if you're into chilled beats. 

Listen to 'Aim to Get Caught' here:

Kanye West - The Life of Pablo

Genre: geniuscore, douchecore, "I'M THE GLITCH"*,
~ A E S T H E T I C ~

Favourite tracks: The ones where Kanye tells you how great he is, 'Subscribe to Tidal, pretty please' 

Just kidding. I don't have anything to say about this album that hasn't already been said. 

I'm also not some kind of "Kanye hater". It's just a prank, bro. 

*Kanye actually said this over and over again in an interview with Zane Lowe while comparing himself to a character from the movie Wreck it Ralph. This fucking guy. 

Jesu/Sun Kil Moon

Genre: alternative, folk, spoken word 

Favourite tracks: 'Last Night I Rocked the Room Like Elvis and Had Them Laughing like Richard Pryor', 'Fragile', 'Father's Day', 'America's Most Wanted Mark Kozelek and John Dillinger', 'Exodus'

Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Godflesh) and Mark Kolezek (Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters) come together on this new LP. Despite a steady creative output that spans multiple decades and projects, Mark Kolezek really found a new following with his 2014 album Benji, a superb example of contemporary songwriting that I would easily name among my favourite albums of all time. Last year, Kozelek (again as Sun Kil Moon) released Universal Themes, a somewhat experimental mish mash of stories and musical ideas. Universal Themes was rambly and drawn out, even for Kozelek, with long spoken word passages and instrumental breaks. While there were some shining songs and moments on the album, Kozelek made it clear he wasn't about to ride his own Benji wave of popularity with more of the same. 

In a lot of ways, this new collaboration feels like a midway point between Benji and Universal Themes. The real meat of these songs is Kozelek, with Broadrick giving his own unique flavour to the production and instrumentation. Again, the tracks are long, rambly and story-driven, as is to be expected from Kozelek. One thing is impossible to dispute, Kozelek knows how to tell a story. Each song is like a masterfully written musical short story, moving through moments of humour and heartbreak with a keen self-awareness and deep honesty. 

The instrumentation varies far more than it did on albums like Benji or even earlier Sun Kil Moon albums like Ghosts of the Great Highway. The first few tracks of this album lean heavily on a steady rock drum beat and loose, lo-fi distorted guitars. To me, these songs get a bit too musically and rhythmically repetitive with the non-stop driving riffs. It feels like the guitars and Mark's vocals are struggling for space in the mix and distracting from the lyrical content of the songs. Fortunately, the album picks up with some clever instrumental variation and stronger musical themes towards the middle and latter part of its tracklist. The electronic elements and acoustic arrangements (reminiscent of Benji) Broadrick has put together are sonically interesting and work incredibly well with Kozelek's vocal delivery. Even the later use of the noise-rock style electric guitar tone melds in more effectively on the song 'Sally'.  

While this collaboration is not flawless, when it gets it right it's pretty damn good. 

You can listen to THIS VIDEO IS NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR COUNTRY oh seriously YouTube why you gotta make this so hard for me. 

You can listen to 'Exodus' here.

Mood Robot - The Story We Tell Ourselves

Genre: electronic, synth pop

Favourite tracks: 'Intro', 'Drip', 

The intro track and 'Drip' are what first drew me to this EP. The intro is an instrumental blend of retro chip tune sounds and 80s style synths that come together in a modern, Kavinsky-esque way. It's damn cool and catchy. 'Drip' is a poppy delight, mostly leaning on those same synth tones and some nicely integrated electric guitar. It's melodically infectious with some interesting production choices and smooth vocals. 

Unfortunately the other tracks on this EP don't feel as polished. While the production remains fairly pristine throughout, the musical ideas and melodic hooks are nowhere near as interesting. The male vocals are pretty weak and don't do a good job of carrying what are already fairly uninteresting songs. It just doesn't do enough to stand out from the abundance of other indie synth pop out there. 

It feels like this EP is more of a single with a few other tracks thrown in Mood Robot didn't want to go to waste filling out the runtime. The intro track and 'Drip' are well worth your time, but I don't see myself coming back to the rest of the EP in a hurry. 

You can listen to 'Drip' here:

Annnnnnnddddd that's it for this month. What's been filling your ears lately? Anything I should review? Also, if you've read this far, what did you enjoy out of this selection? Anything you want to see more of, or similar artists? I can't really review every single thing I listen to, so what do you wanna see? 

And as usual if you share this blog post you'll receive a lifetime supply of ... like orange juice (or a fruit juice of your choice). 100% legit limited time offer.**

**terms and conditions apply***

*** Terms and conditions: this isn't legit. 

ALBUM ROUNDUP JANUARY 2016

When I started this blog I also made a decision to change the way I buy and consume music. I wanted to buy more physical copies of new music and listen to lossless, uncompressed audio sources wherever possible. Which means buying CDs or paying for a lossless download. This is fairly picky of me but I think it's justified for two reasons:

• I genuinely have a better listening experience when using lossless audio; and
• I believe my "relationship" (for lack of a better word) with the album is enhanced through the process of actually pulling the album off the shelf, popping it into my disc drive or the CD drive in the car, flicking through the liner notes etc.

Neither of these things are revelations - in fact, you're probably thinking "well, duh". But I think that while the internet has given us easy access to more music than any other platform before it, the way we consume music has not changed for the better in all aspects. I have plans to address these points in further depth in a standalone post. 

What this has caused is a bit of an unforeseen difficulty in writing this blog: buying music legitimately is way harder than it should be. Unless an album is fairly mainstream, it's not going to be on shelves here on release day. Okay, fair enough, I'm into some pretty obscure stuff. But putting in special orders and getting an album weeks after release is tiresome, especially when I know I could sail the high seas of the internet and have it for free in a matter of minutes. And it's especially annoying when you want to dive into an album and digest all it has to offer before writing about it in your blog that nobody reads (except you, you awesome person). So I could pay for a download, right? Convenient, quick and legal, right? Well, sometimes, but there are other issues with that which are perhaps better suited for that other post I mentioned.

What all that crap means is that these blogs will invariably always be late and pretty much never contain all of the albums I wanted to talk about for the month. I'm not really complaining too much, this isn't some serious thing with a serious deadline and serious consequences. I'm just making some observations, some preliminary thoughts about something I think I'll address in more detail later. This blog aside, I find it absurd that legal access to music isn't as straightforward as it should be. And I have some ideas about why that is, about the shifts in the industry and technology that are the cause of this. Anyway, I'm getting carried away. Some other time.

These albums though:

Saul Williams - 'MartyrLoserKing'

Genre: spoken word, hip-hop, poetry, experimental

Favourite tracks: 'Horn of the Clock-Bike', 'Ashes', 'The Bear/Coltan as Cotton', 'Burundi', 'Down for Some Ignorance'

Saul Williams is a figure that has long stood at the fringes of the hip-hop and poetry worlds. He has won awards for his writing and poetry and collaborated with many big-hitters, most notably Trent Reznor on 'The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!'. Saul Williams has always excelled in pushing himself artistically rather than pursuing commercial success and his latest full length album proves his dedication is unrelenting. 

From the outset there aren't any surprises in the themes explored on this album. Williams's poetry and music has always been focussed on social and racial inequality (Martyr Loser King/Martin Luther King, geddit?), which he approaches in a nuanced if not occasionally obtuse way. Williams is still a poet at heart and has never been one to base his lyrics around an idea of catchy or musical verse writing. Instead, the lyrical content of this album is mostly delivered through carefully written poetic verses and loud, chanting choruses. He knows what he's doing in this respect, but some of the delivery and content of the lyrics is probably a bit too out there for some people's taste.

This album really excels in its instrumental production. Borrowing heavily from alt-rock and drone music, Williams uses some brilliantly utilised loops and noisy synths to flesh out the tracks. Every track is rich with a full sonic palette including tribal drums, blearing electronics, distortion and clever sampling. Each song is full of intrigue and worth a close listen to hear all of the aesthetic ideas that have gone into the production of this album. It really is mesmerising. 

I'm yet to get enough of this album. There are some genuinely creative and solid songs to be found here. It is definitely my pick from this past month. 

You can listen to 'Burundi' here.

Skindred - 'Volume'

Genre: ragga-metal, alternative metal

Favourite tracks: 'Volume', 'Saying it Now', 'No Justice'

There was a time when I would have named Skindred among my favourite bands. Their unique blend of reggae and metal didn't always work perfectly but when it did it was a lot of heavy hitting fun. While not all of those old songs have aged well, the ones that have still hold up really well. Their use of rhythmic, growling verses and soaring melodic choruses with a reggae feel was creative and stood out. 

This latest album, like their previous release 'Kill the Power', for the most part doesn't feel as fresh and daring as their earlier albums. This is a case of too much filler not enough killer. There are a few good tracks that feel like the Skindred of old but the rest feel a bit weak. The bounding, heavy riffs are still there but they feel very generic and unimaginative, mostly indistinguishable from a lot of popular hard rock and alternative metal out there. The guitar tone is a bit messy in places as well, the overdrive falls flat and feels like it's missing some punch from the mids. The vocals are also missing that unique reggae flair on the filler tracks and some of the melodic hooks are downright boring and repetitive. 

If you're a fan already or into the genre this album is worth a listen, but after a couple of listens you'll realise which tracks are worth skipping. 

You can listen to 'Volume' here:

マクロスMACROSS 82-99 - 'Jutsu' 

Genre: electronic, funk, pop, dance, vaporwave 

Favourite tracks:  'ミュン・ファン・ローン', '『82.99 AM』', 'Idol Talk Pt. II'

In an alternative universe ABBA were Japanese and someone remixed their songs into modern dance tracks that sound like a funky retro-futuristic video game soundtrack and it sounded like Macross 82-99. That's pretty much what this is. 

Taking samples from everything from anime soundtracks to the Stone Temple Pilots, this EP provides a lot of high energy fun in short bursts. The beats are heavy and danceable, with enough layers to keep things interesting. Despite how busy these songs are and all the samples used, the tracks are masterfully mixed and crystal clear letting the detail shine through. 

Give this one a go. It's catchy, fun and somehow nostalgic even if you haven't heard the sampled works. (It's also available on their Bandcamp and you can name your own price, so quality music for free or a few bucks, up to you).

You can listen to '『82.99 AM』' here:

There was one other album I was going to review this month but I've barely had the chance to listen to it and this post has gone on long enough. I'll leave it for next month :) 

Thanks for reading. If you share this blog post I will no joke give you like, ummm some magic beans. No scam. 100% legit not drugs actual magic beans for a limited time offer*

Have nice day.

*offer expired I'm so very sorry