Album Reviews

Speedy Ortiz – Foil Deer

April 23, 2015

When Speedy Ortiz’s first full length, Major Arcana, dropped in 2013, I experienced a strong sense of addiction. From the first listen, the crooked, catchy rhythms, jangly vocal delivery, and lyrical wit had me listening over and over. Speedy Ortiz doesn’t put out run of the mill indie rock, they have a very unique formula.  While seeming not to be able to escape the comparisons made by critics to bands like Pavement and Sonic Youth, Speedy Ortiz has boasted a unique style since their beginning, and one that they stuck to on Foil Deer for a good reason. The most notable quality in Speedy Ortiz’s music, other than the fuzzed out freakishly catchy guitar riffs, would be vocalist’s Sadie Dupuis’ thoughtful, charismatic, and metaphorical lyrics. Dupuis’ elegant wordplay is strongly influenced by her strong background in poetry,  as she is a candidate for an MFA in poetry at University of Massachusetts[...]

Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color

April 21, 2015

When they exploded on the scene in 2012, Alabama Shakes’ mix of bluesy garage rock, Southern rock and soul (channeled via vocalist Brittany Howard) led most critics to brand them a roots rock group. It was, for the most part, a fitting umbrella genre to peg the eclectic, idiosyncratic quartet under. But with the release of their sophomore record, Sound & Color, forget any notion you might have had about the Shakes playing so-called roots rock. In fact, forget any notion that these Heart of Dixie oddballs could be branded under any singular genre or style. A breathtakingly weird and diverse record, Sound & Color adds R&B, disco, funk, classic rock and even dashes of punk to its established soul and blues rock amalgam. And while genre-blending may be more or less ubiquitous in popular music in our post-millennium world, most acts are far more subtle, seamless and safe in[...]

Tyler, The Creator – Cherry Bomb

April 13, 2015

Say what you will about Tyler, The Creator – his puerile public persona; his real-life destructive stage antics; his stoic, perennially grumpy-sounding delivery – but the dude’s nothing if not eclectic. Much like the sophomore records of fellow Odd Future emcee Earl Sweatshirt, and unlikely OF friend and collab Mac Miller, Tyler unleashes a dizzying, psychedelic smash of sounds on his second album, Cherry Bomb, that’s quite incomparable in rap. It’s no secret the OF Head Honcho has been trying to incorporate jazz influences in his music, and free jazz, neo-soul and funk swirl and percolate on the album’s softer, finer moments. “2 Seater” is a woozy R&B slow burner that could almost bit the bill for a Frank Ocean track, and lead single “Fucking Young” is a lovably campy lovesong backed by a psychedelic soundscape of shimmering strings and ringing synths. But Tyler’s still Tyler, and he counter-balances these prettier[...]

Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp

April 10, 2015

If there’s anything I’ve learned from listening to Waxahatchee’s music, it is that less is more. The acoustic, lo-fi sound that frontwoman Katie Crutchfield brought on her first record, American Weekend, was something very special. Recorded solo by Crutchfield in her bedroom, the lo-fi recording style made the record as a whole seem so humble, yet it managed to be so emotionally piercing. On her first record as Waxahatchee, Crutchfield more so proved herself as an absolutely incredible songwriter, even more so than she did her other projects, P.S Eliot and Swearin’. While both of those bands are great and shine in their own way, it is easy to tell that she really found her footing in Waxahatchee. Following American Weekend, Crutchfield released the band’s second full length, Cerulean Salt. On this record, she introduced a more cleaned up style of recording, prevalent drum sections, and electric guitars, bringing more of[...]

Toro Y Moi – What For?

April 9, 2015

Often characterized as the father of chillwave, Chazwick Bundick, or Toro Y Moi, has released his fourth album, What For? this past Tuesday. With music that’s just as strange as his name, Bundick has pushed all boundaries concerning genre. Since 2008, Bundick has artistically manipulated what we know about music – only to invert it – and the resulting experience has been sublime. Now, he has built somewhat of a cult following, despite each album sounds drastically incomparable to the last. If you’ve heard Causers of This (2010), then you know why Bundick has been credited with beginning the chillwave genre. An intensely dreamy experience, Causers of This is certainly an acquired taste. (I can remember my siblings complaining about how repetitive it was when I played it in the car.) Still, it was weird, and it was memorable – that’s what drew me in. Underneath the Pine (2011) is[...]

Fort Romeau – Insides

April 8, 2015

Since the release of his 2012 debut album Kingdoms, London producer Fort Romeau has continued to develop a highly textured, slow-burning house sound that lends itself to both economical dance cuts as well as airy, warm introspective tracks. After putting out a series of EP’s for Ghostly International that saw the artist explore sounds outside of the house realm like ambient, italo disco and Kraftwerk-style synth pop, his latest full-length Insides furthers this sonic shift into darker, more direct territory. With typically lush synth work and crisp percussion once again present, it’s the producer’s restraint of the use of vocal samples that draws more attention to the rich instrumentation and experimental sounds like on the sprawling title track whose minimal arrangement creates space for each element to be individually appreciated while maintaining an engaging song structure. Coming from an artist who released a statement about the importance of “slow listening,” there isn’t[...]

Death Grips – The Powers That B

April 3, 2015

There are very few bands that have as strong of a cult following as the controversial, experimental hip hop trio, Death Grips. Over its five year life span, DG has put out some incredibly genre defying music, even attracting the ears of one of the biggest names in the world of hip hop (I’m looking at you, Kanye). It seems that with countless cancelled tours and shows, shrouded release dates, and the wild goose chases fans have been led on, that Death Grips has been surrounded in controversy since the beginning. While I will fully admit that this kind of music is most definitely not for everyone, if you go into this with an open mind, it is easy to find the talent that Death Grips possesses. The group’s latest project, and supposedly its last, is the new double album, The Powers That B.  The first part, titled Niggas on[...]

Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell

April 1, 2015

Loss can alter a person. Whether it’s reinvention, recollection, or flat-out despair that hits the hardest, the death of a loved one often times has a profound effect on an individual. In the case of Sufjan Stevens, the feelings resulting from his mother’s death in 2012 became the creative fuel for Carrie & Lowell, his most masterfully put-together musical release to date. However, this claim does not come without its irony. The album, an emotionally-baring open-book chapter of Sufjan’s personal life, is also the artist at his most torn-apart. Detailing childhood feelings and the difficult relationship he had with his late mother, Sufjan lays out his experiences without expectation, covering a wide spectrum of human emotion. Struggling with alcoholism and bipolar disorder before her untimely death to stomach cancer in 2012, Sufjan’s mother Carrie (along with his stepfather Lowell, who now works at the label that put out this very[...]

Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi

March 31, 2015

“I don’t know where to begin,” croons perennially plaintive vocalist Benjamin Gibbard on Kintsugi, the eighth studio album from indie-rock vets Death Cab for Cutie. Indeed, with its synth flourishes and electronic left-turns, it does ring of a band that’s struggling to maintain its identity while still growing musically – albeit one that’s doing it fairly successfully. Kintsugi mostly follows in the electronic-tinged footsteps of its predecessor Codes And Keys, but while maintaining the sense of heart and intimacy that has made the group among the more interesting in indie pop. Gibbard evokes a stark, forbidding landscape with space for relationship conflict in the most straightforward rocker “Black Sun” – a piece which begins with an “I Am The Highway”-like riff that progresses unexpectedly into cascading riffs and an awesomely static-y guitar solo. And on “Ingénue,” he tells of a young woman ignored and under-appreciated over a slow-building, electronica influenced power[...]

Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon

March 25, 2015

The narrative of heartbreak and desperation that runs through the debut album of Canadian artist Tobias Jesso Jr. has been countlessly explored by numerous singer-songwriter types who strive to craft a universal sentiment from their internal struggles. It’s worth mentioning that the series of events leading to the period where Jesso Jr. wrote these songs included a heavy breakup, being hit by a car on his bike, and learning his mother had cancer before returning to his childhood home. The compelling sounds found on Goon are nothing ground-breaking, as the instrumentation includes piano, drums, with the occasional strings and a few guitar-led tracks, yet their earnest nature coupled with the singer’s wary delivery make for a refreshing listen. Obvious comparisons to classic songwriters like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, and Harry Nillson have been made and their influence can easily be heard on the album’s opener “Can’t Stop Thinking[...]

Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside

March 24, 2015

Could Earl Sweatshirt make it any clearer that he has no interest in being a chart-topping rap-star? With the release of his sophomore album, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, it’s pretty obvious the only right answer is no. An entirely self-produced effort – under the alias randomblackdude – the barely 21-year-old SoCal rapper pushes the restrained minimalism of his debut, Doris, to even further extremes. The beats are weirder and more abrasive; his flow is even more down-tempo and heavy-handed; his lyrics are intensely personal and dark, at times suffocatingly gloomy. Rap braggadocio this is certainly not, though he and his stolid-voiced guests do manage to cram a few disses and kiss-offs in with all this introspective ruminating. “Fingertips to tapers, now, salute us when you face us / give a fuck about the moves all these loser niggas making now,” he raps over eerie keys on[...]

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly

March 20, 2015

This is an album that will be remembered. Kendrick Lamar’s second major-label album follows the narrative of a poem that Kendrick wrote about his path from a Comptonite into one of the most important leaders to the African American youth. Tied into this poem is another recurring theme, the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. This butterfly is an extended metaphor for a person (Kendrick) who leaves their home (Compton) behind to become a star, and the trials and tribulations that come with that evolution. Although they believe that their stardom frees them, it really exposes them to an industry that aims to squeeze as much money out of them as possible. The butterfly is pimped out by corporate America, and a success story for one is a pawn to another. Kendrick’s poem is told in final form on the album’s final track but we hear it build to[...]

Twin Shadow – Eclipse

March 19, 2015

After a delayed release date last year and a rescheduled tour, George Lewis Jr.’s new wave synth-pop outfit, Twin Shadow, is back with its third studio full length, Eclipse. On his latest release, Lewis really pushes the “pop” in synth-pop. He has definitely been leaning more towards this transition over time since his 80’s synthesizer filled new wave 2010 debut Forget to the 2012’s Confess, which featured more rock oriented instrumentals. The main appeal of the debut record was the incredibly simplistic approach to synth-pop Twin Shadow took. Everything was so smooth as Lewis’ vocals seemed to sort of ebb and flow along with the electronic drums and synthesizers, giving a distinct R&B type feel on many of the tracks. On Confess, Lewis went for a more grand approach, with similar verse structure to Forget, but as soon as the choruses hit, the vocals and instrumentals exploded. While most songs followed the similar instrumental[...]

Modest Mouse – Strangers to Ourselves

March 17, 2015

Over the last couple years, Modest Mouse’s new album had become arguably the most anticipated release in alternative rock. The eight-year gap so soon after their mid-aught heyday was made all the more intriguing by the bits of news that did emerge. Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr had already left the band, they worked with OutKast mastermind Big Boi (but mostly just got fucked up), and of course, the tongue-in-cheek name for front man Isaac Brock’s record label, Glacial Pace. But Strangers to Ourselves is classic Modest Mouse – overstuffed, over-the-top and overdramatic in all the best ways. Even still the record shows a sense of maturity and growth. The music is darker, more brooding and abrasive than their last two records – yet still retains the pop influences opened up by their breakthrough Good News for People Who Love Bad News. And perhaps most important: Brock’s frenzied vocals and razor-sharp[...]

Will Butler – Policy

March 10, 2015

A few weeks ago, Arcade Fire keyboardist/drummer Will Butler shared an interesting, but ultimately inconsequential tidbit about his upcoming debut solo album: inspired by early Bob Dylan, Butler would write a song each day based on a headline in The Guardian. He allegedly culled the songs from a week’s worth of headlines – specifically the week of Feb. 23, 2015. Given Dylan’s long, exemplar history of protest songs and storytelling, Butler may have set a bar of expectations that was all but impossible to attain. But Butler doesn’t even seem to be trying to write next “Hurricane” or “Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” (his purported inspiration behind the project). Rather, Policy – what became of that challenge – is a collection of eight breathtakingly concise pop songs that rarely sound political or even remotely literary. The whole affair clocks in at just past 26 minutes, barely eking past the standard[...]