Album Reviews

Yung Lean – Unknown Memory

September 26, 2014

This one hurts. This one really hurts. And it hurts because the pieces are there, but it just falls short of what it could’ve been. I do like this album, but I can’t help but listen to it thinking of what I wanted it to be. I would say that I’m crying about this, but with Yung Lean being associated with the Sad Boys, crying might be considered a good thing. I had such high expectations for this project, the debut album from one of my favorite artists Yung Lean-doer. The worst part about reviewing this album is the sincerity behind it. I know listening to it that Lean tried his best to make a really good album. He cut down on the jokes, and cut down on the rapping super hard, instead opting for a lot of autotune singing. I really liked it on “Ghosttown,” but my expectations were[...]

alt-J – This Is All Yours

September 23, 2014

If you’ve already listened to An Awesome Wave (2012), then it should come as no surprise that England-based trio, alt-J, is the farthest thing from generic.  With the release of their latest album, This Is All Yours, their peculiar sound seems only to have intensified, resulting in a compelling listening experience. As is characteristic to alt-J, An Awesome Wave is brimming with harmonies, layering, and, of course, the inevitable struggle to decipher what Joe Newman is actually saying.  This, however, does not distract in any way from the quality of their sound. In fact, it amplifies its strangeness in such a way that is magnetic. The album’s main quirk lies in the fact that there is a large disconnect between the tracks. While some songs (“Arrival in Nara,” “Pusher,” “Warm Foothills”) are almost hauntingly delicate, other songs possess verve and comedic relief.  “Every Other Freckle” particularly speaks to this dynamic;[...]

Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World

September 8, 2014

What do you do after mysteriously and quietly disbanding one of Canada’s most buzz­worthy acts? Well the answer turns out to mysteriously and quietly reunite and record an amazing sophomore album. Death From Above 1979 is back with a decade of experience behind them, and it shows in The Physical World. The guitar hits hard, the lyrics bite down, and all of the tracks feel gritty. The album is fresh while still accessible to the fans that have worn out 2004’s You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. There is a mix in The Physical World that will hit a lot of different cords. I hear flashes of the White Stripes, Them Crooked Vultures and even Fall Out Boy, but all blended together in a way that creates its own unique sounds. The duo does not betray its roots with the new album, and that is exceptionally clear in their radio releases “Trainwreck 1979” and “Government Trash.” If[...]

Interpol – El Pintor

September 8, 2014

After nearly twenty years of creating music, inclusive of a four year hiatus, New York City’s Interpol has produced an astonishingly flat album: El Pintor. At best, El Pintor is pedestrian; at worst, it is banal, unimaginative, and something of a cop-out. Perhaps it was the hiatus (2009-2013) that threw the band off kilter. Quite possibly, they are losing their touch, or maybe, after gathering such an ardent fan-base for nearly two decades, they merely stopped trying. Reminiscent to a bad amalgam between The Strokes and R.E.M., it sounds promising. The ultimate result, however, lacks any novelty. Upon first listening through the album, I initially had the impression that I had heard it somewhere before. This is, of course, because the album is indistinguishable from any other run-of-the-mill alternative rock album out there. In fact, what is probably most disheartening about El Pintor is not necessarily that it’s bad, but that it left me with no[...]

Adult Jazz – Gist Is

August 14, 2014

On a loose, idiosyncratic, freewheeling debut,  Adult Jazz display a broad, virtuosic interest in packing as many musical ideas into an album as possible. The UK act combine the bobbing melodic panache of the Dirty Projectors with the lunging Afro-beat tendencies of Vampire Weekend and the slow-and-steady indie-pop momentum of a band like Beach House. They blend folk gentleness with the promised jazz of their namesake. A cafe-friendly pleasantness buries itself in highly unfocused song structures. Tribal percussion joins electric and acoustic guitars in forward flows of streams-of-consciousness. And through it all, Adult Jazz, leaving limits and constraints to less adventurous groups, somehow remain aesthetically consistent. The album’s sixth, and most mesmerizing track, “Spook,” best exemplifies the band’s coyly curious style. Slithering in and out of different musical skins with grace and ease, the song keeps its near ten minute running time alive and endearing. Although shorter tracks like “Am Gone”[...]

Issa Gold – Conversations with a Butterfly

August 1, 2014

Issa Gold (formerly Issa Dash) is a Flatbush rapper who joined fellow rapper AK in forming the Underachievers. The two are members of the Beast Coast collective along with Pro Era (Joey Bada$$’ crew) and the Flatbush Zombies. The Underachievers identify themselves as  “Indigo Children” based on their experiences with psychedelics and their inherent ability to be  cooler than everyone. It’s no lie to say their indigo subject matter can tire pretty quickly, but they do have a very good project in Indigoism to get behind. Conversations with a Butterfly is the first solo release from Issa, who is often looked at as the lesser rapper of the two. Issa is a pretty interesting guy if you follow him on Twitter as well. He shares his vast wisdom with his legion of Indigoians (new word), and is never afraid to talk about how smart he is. He even reads books! The[...]

Orcales – Divination

July 30, 2014

There is something so satisfying about exploring the darker side of things. From Houston, Texas, Leroy Bella – monikered SINES – has released the Divination compilation, under the Oracles label. The compilation features a variety of artists that bring a heavier and hauntingly intriguing vibe. This album is not the type where I am going to break down each track one by one. The tracks, unique in their own way, makes the compilation just that: a product of previously separate items coming together to create something bigger. This one specifically inspires visions of dark alleyways strewn with faint, hazy light. One you would want to dance down. “As the influx of cross mutations of club music became more and more evident to catch the ears of party goers. I wanted to bring my take with a spin on it and see how it would do showcasing a label with predominately[...]

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye

July 30, 2014

When you woke up on the morning of Tuesday, July 29th, 2014, you might have noticed that the grass was a bit greener, and the air was a bit cleaner. There’s an easy explanation for that: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released a new album! Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but after four years since the last Heartbreakers record, it was about time for one of the most consistently great rock bands in the world to finally get back in the studio. I can happily report that the results are good: Hypnotic Eye is yet another strong Heartbreakers record, and furthers Petty’s status as the most reliable songwriter in rock (if you’re wondering, Jack White is second, Dave Grohl is third). The buzz about this album in the months before its release centered around the idea that Petty would be returning to the sound of his[...]

Jenny Lewis – The Voyager

July 29, 2014

“The voyager is in every boy and girl, / if you want to get to heaven / get out of this world.” On July 29th, Jenny Lewis released her first solo effort, The Voyager, since the sensual alt-country album Acid Tongue of 2008. I expect a lot from Jenny Lewis. I expected sci-fi to blast us off and let us escape, I expected sex to ground us, I expected sliding guitars to remind us of where we come from. Yet, squarely in the middle of the album, she croons, “Forgive me my candor.” The Voyager probes, sent on their mission in 1977, are the furthest that human-made objects have ever been from planet Earth. They famously contain a disc, a Golden Record each, an audio-visual capsule of life on our planet. These records are at once extraordinary and accessible: they contain greetings, mathematics, measurements, silhouettes, and songs. Yet, in order for their beauty to be unpacked,[...]

Common – Nobody’s Smiling

July 25, 2014

Longtime G.O.O.D. music signee and legend in his own right, Common, is an interesting player in the rap game. His career started a couple decades ago under the name Common Sense, and his song “I Used to Love H.E.R.” is looked at as one of the greatest achievements in rap music history. He has a host of Grammy nominations, and a couple of wins. He’s also a successful actor, currently starring on the T.V. show Hell on Wheels, a Don Moretti favorite. He’s got borderline classic albums like Be (executive produced by Kanye, those were the days) and The Dreamer/The Believer, but he’s also had a few duds on his discography, especially when he tries to go instrumental like with 2008’s Universal Mind Control. Whenever Common sticks to the script, you can count on a thoughtful, poetic effort from perhaps Chicago’s most lyrical emcee ever besides maybe Lupe. Black history, activism, and Chicago social commentary plus a[...]

Alvvays – Alvvays

July 24, 2014

Entering through the indie pop door by way of Vivian Girls and Best Coast, Toronto’s Alvvays have arrived on the tinny, reverb-loving scene with their first LP. Like CHVRCHES, Alvvays recognize the Google-friendly potential of the letter “v” when borrowing a common word and stylistically recasting it as a band name. Unlike CHVRCHES, Alvvays rely strictly on a traditional rock n’ roll set up, mostly avoiding synthetic sounds in their garage-twee tunes. For a debut record, Alvvays is modest but consistent. The band is young, taking its first tentative steps out. As they jangle forward into the unknown, they move lightly and carefully, never stumbling. Lead singer Molly Rankin has the sort of sweet, near-childlike voice that indie music lovers have always been welcoming of. Rankin’s lyrics populate the emotional ambiguities she delves into with concrete details. The band’s lead single, “Marry Me, Archie,” opens with a memorable jab at a marriage-allergic boyfriend: “You’ve[...]

Shlohmo and Jeremih – No More

July 18, 2014

I stumbled upon this unlikely duo a little over a year ago when they released “Bo Peep” and the accompanying NSFW video that made my whole body feel funny. This project was originally slated to drop back in February, and after a few more quiet months, it was unsure if No More would ever drop. Shlohmo had previously remixed Jeremih’s “Fuck U All the Time,” but the two took step forward in their musical careers when they began to work together. Shlohmo is an electronic musician who’s been releasing music since 2009, and Jeremih is the artist behind “Birthday Sex.” As weird as it is to believe, this collaborative is perfect parts electronic/catchy RnB with a really creative vision. Shlohmo seems to be the mastermind behind this project, and he really is brilliant in his execution. Jeremih’s contributions are excellent, but the project really shines in the atmospheres Shlohmo creates and the way[...]

Jungle – Jungle

July 15, 2014

Last summer, a UK production duo went incognito under the aliases of simply J and T to form a mysterious group known as Jungle. At first glance, the group just seemed to be another batch of aspiring musicians venturing into music under an unorthodox method to grab people’s attention, but upon listening to their early releases, it became clear this group had something extra special to share. It wasn’t until recently that the world learned the identities behind the J and T of Jungle belonged to Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, both of who previously fronted the British pop act Born Blonde. This time around, the duo has sworn to make the music they’ve always intended too with their set of reshaped electro-funk, summer jams in their very first, self-titled album. For as long as criticism has existed, people have argued over whether something is truly creative or modest trash.[...]

MellowHype – INSA

July 11, 2014

There is a clear hierarchy in the notorious West Coast collective Odd Future. Frank Ocean recently dropped his OF representatives, but he’s still somewhat associated and he is untouchably superior to the whole group. He garners acclaim from all directions and his masterpiece ChannelORANGE is one of the most celebrated albums in recent years. Then there’s Tyler, the Creator, the outspoken king of the teenagers, and founder of the group and it’s image. He is Odd Future, and his first major release Wolf saw many positive reviews and was praised for it’s independence and creativity. Next in line is Earl Sweatshirt, who’s probably the superior rapper of the two, but also much more of a recluse, and therefore out of the shine. His debut Doris was an introspective, murky depiction of life as a depressed teen prodigy reluctant to star, and the critics loved that too. So that’s the big three, and after that who comes[...]

Sia – 1000 Forms of Fear

July 8, 2014

Australian-born singer/songwriter Sia Furler is probably one of the most popular and influential artists in pop music today, although you’ve probably never heard of her name, nor even seen her face. But with pipes like Mariah Carey and a collaborative resume that ranges from Christina Aguilera to Eminem, Sia is certainly no Adele. Sia’s previous releases, filled with quirky yet soulful tunes, have peaked in the low 50’s on the Billboard top 200. Her latest album, 1000 Forms of Fear, however, shows Sia at her most pop-oriented and anthemic yet. Sia couldn’t have chosen a better opener to the album than “Chandelier.” Starting with a light jazzy verse, the song soon transitions into the best pop chorus this year for sure. Sia belts more than she ever has, pushing her range to new heights. This is a song that will easily make it onto KISS 98.5, but is also a[...]