CLASSIC SATURDAYS: Nas- Illmatic (20 Years Later)
When discussing “The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time”, there can be a lot of contenders. One of the biggest contenders of all time is Nas’ immortal and damn near perfect Illmatic. 20 years later, it’s still in the conversation and it’s still an album that rappers have yet to truly top. Released during a renaissance for Hip-Hop in the early-to-mid 90s, it stood out from the pack as something that could truly transcend the genre. But in the spectrum of transcendental Hip-Hop, it’s a fascinating subject. There are plenty of other candidates: 36 Chambers, Ready to Die, Madvillainy, Low End Theory, It Takes a Nation of Millions, MBDTF, Aquemini, Paul’s Boutique, Cold Vein, Blueprint. However, Hip-Hop is a genre where even the albums nearest to perfection have plenty of flaws. Low End Theory and Madvillainy are both a bit too long, there’s one or two just OK tracks on Aquemini and Paul’s Boutique, It Takes a Nation of Millions suffers from vaguely dated production, and MBDTF and Ready To Die are fantastic records plagued with two awkward sketches (One featuring Chris Rock yelling over a beautiful beat about pussy, the other is Biggie awkwardly fucking a girl on a washing machine). The only two Hip-Hop albums that are almost inhumanly perfect are 36 Chambers and Nas’ masterpiece, Illmatic.
What also separates Nas from the pack is that his album didn’t really do much to revolutionize the game. All those other albums innovated and twisted Hip-Hop into new places, sonically and lyrically. What Nas did wasn’t innovative, but it perfected his lane. Illmatic is the epitome of Boom Bap; it’s an album that so perfectly nails every beat and every lyric and every track that it’s almost uncomfortable to listen to. All those other albums overcome their flaws by taking those tiny problems and making them endearing. Some of those other albums are still damn near perfect, and their flaws have morphed to become integral parts of the album. Illmatic doesn’t have any of these flaws, it’s just front-to-back concision and skill. Notice that Jay-Z never came at Illmatic during that infamous Nas vs. Jay-Z beef? There’s a reason for that.
Nas collected an assortment of now-legends to produce his unwitting magnum opus: DJ Premier and Large Professor each produce 3 tracks, Pete Rock and Q-Tip appear, and L.E.S. also contributed his defining beat to Life’s a Bitch. The ominous piano plunking and dissonant beeping over NY State of Mind creates a near ghoulish mood that rivals anything from 36 Chambers, allowing Nas to debut with one of the most intimidating Hip-Hop tracks of all time. This then transitions to the silky and sexy soulful beat underneath Life’s a Bitch, which nicely contrasts the realness of the lyricism and hook supplied by an on-fire AZ (Who does a damn fine job as the album’s only vocal guest). The outro of the song also includes a stunning horn solo from Olu Dara, who is Nas’ father. There’s some amazing scratching on The World Is Yours, some great bells and horn samples on Halftime, a subtle soul vocal sample w/ organs on Memory Lane, a nice jazzy vibe on One Love, a silky and slow drum on One Time 4 Your Mind, a vintage mysterious sound on Represent, and an incredible vocal and sax sample on It Ain’t Hard to Tell. If this album was just instrumentals, it would easily have the potential to be a classic.
But what makes Illmatic one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time, in addition to one of the greatest albums of any genre, is Nas himself. He opens NY State of Mind with the line “Straight out the fucking dungeons of rap/ Where fake niggas don’t make it back” with an almost sadistically satisfying snarl, leading into him absolutely ripping the track apart. Nas was young, and Illmatic made it immediately clear that Nas was someone to be reckoned with. Even if some of his street stories were clearly hyperbolic (As a kid, Nas was more of an observer of the streets around him than any actual sort of participant). It helps that Nas has a fiery and commanding flow all over the album, but this album hits an entirely new level with Nas’ incredible lyricism. There’s this line from NY State of Mind:
“It drops deep as it does in my breath/I never sleep, ’cause sleep is the cousin of death/Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined/I think of crime when I’m in a New York state of mind”
And then there’s these lines from The World Is Yours:
“While all the old folks pray to Jesus, soakin’ their sins in trays/Of holy water, odds against Nas are slaughter/Thinkin’ a word best describing my life/To name my daughter my strength/My son the star will be my resurrection/Born in correction, all the wrong shit I did, he’ll lead a right direction”
Illmatic stands out because of how hauntingly introspective Nas explores his inner city life. At every second, death is lurking around him, and he’s stuck in a place that’s damn near inescapable. New York isn’t only conveyed in the dirty boom bap sound, it’s conveyed through the extremely mortally-grounded lyricism that Nas maintains throughout the entire album. Nas does engage in some braggadocio here and there, but it’s always warranted and never truly a focus (Plus, he has some killer lines that absolutely allow him to say such things. Like, the entirety of Halftime). Nas’ street stories and introspection helped bring heavy lyricism back to Hip-Hop, opening the door for every politically conscious rapper ever to come after, as well as every extremely lyrical rapper that would follow (With all the extreme wordplay the opens itself up with repeat listens, particularly on tracks like Represent).
Illmatic is still an album that practically haunts Nas to this day. While Nas has released plenty of noteworthy Hip-Hop albums since (God’s Son is particularly good, and Stillmatic has plenty of fine tracks (Including the Jay-Z eviscerating Ether)), each album has lived in the shadow of an album so influential and so great that every Nas album since has been measured up to it. In Hip-Hop itself, it didn’t really revolutionize the sound. But it did change the dynamic of Hip-Hop in the 90s. The East Coast experienced a seismic shift with Illmatic, with Nas clearing the light-hearted vibes of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, blasting the door open to let Diddy and Biggie to step up to the plate (As well as opening the lane for Wu-Tang to take over). After the West Coast established its firm footing in Gangster rap, Illmatic brought the East Coast to the game late, but with no less of an impact. 20 years later, Illmatic still stands as an influential and essential Hip-Hop album, the epitome of one of the greatest eras in music ever.
Summary: Illmatic is truly a classic and defining example of New York Boom Bap; A lyrically fascinating, sonically heavy, and overall intense and brilliant Hip-Hop album that retains it’s uniqueness through how perfectly and deftly it handles its street subject matter.
Choice Cuts: N.Y. State of Mind, Life’s a Bitch, The World Is Yours, Halftime, It Ain’t Hard to Tell, Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park).
Leftovers: Ha!
A++
You can watch the video for It Ain’t Hard to Tell below. Illmatic is out now on Columbia records (You can grab the latest reissue here)
ALBUM REVIEW: Lady Gaga- Artpop
There are a lots of opinions about Lady Gaga, but they rarely relate to her actual music. Her eccentric personality and her obnoxious displays of garish and gaudy fashion. However, behind her ostentatious displays of attention-whoring clothing and shows, there is music there. There are some people who write her off simply because of her stage persona, but Gaga has the ability to write some truly fantastic pop tracks. The Fame was solid, The Fame Monster was actually kind of great, and Born This Way was one of the worst albums released that year. Her career has been hit-or-miss, and Artpop just continues this trend, being a weird mix of hits and…well…misses.
The production throughout this record, while being neutered and clean, is pretty great. The low scratchy synths underneath G.U.Y. are heavy as hell, and they drive a rather dumb song pretty well. The opener Aura is supercharged by harpsichords, some brostep like instrumentals (Which are, oddly enough, not too distracting), and a stellar hook. The verses are a bit plain, but the rest of the song is spot on. There are a lot of songs here where the production can save some awful, awful lyrics.
Lyrically, there are moments that are really, really dumb. After the awesome opener Aura, the blunt hit-you-on-the-head space stories in Venus were a bit cloying. And the talk-singing at several parts, as always, is one of my least favorite things. When she says “Retweet Me” on G.U.Y., I almost wrote off the entire song, despite the really cool production. Now, I don’t remember sexual lyrics being overly blunt on her past projects, but they are at the forefront here. Euphemisms aren’t really here anymore, and she straight up says “When I lay in bed I touch myself and think of you” on the catchy but creepy Sexxx Dreams (Which has the most groan-worthy title).
There are moments here that are absolutely dreadful. I never want to hear T.I. on a Lady Gaga song again after hearing the absolute clusterf*ck of a song that Jewels N’ Drugs. The weird trap production and awful verses really clash with Gaga’s Madonna-style vocals. Too $hort’s verse is particularly unbearable. And even though I really love Twista, he does not help this disaster of a song. Also, a lot of the second half begins to wane compared to the first, since the the album kind of loses some momentum and resorts to some weaker hooks and bland production.
However, even with the worst songs here, Gaga can actually bring a lot to the table. On songs like MANiCURE, her vocals are in full force, and she can deliver a pretty sweet hook (Which also helps with the cool stomp-clap beat here). Then there’s songs like Do What U Want, which has a beat that would have fit in perfect on the soundtrack for Drive. Her vocals are passionate, the hook is stellar, and R. Kelly’s appearance here is pretty great too (“We don’t give a FUUUUUUUUU…”). Applause is also a really fantastic song, with an explosive hook and some pretty awesome verses. The production is also really great here, which makes it one of Lady Gaga’s better singles. There are a lot of songs here that fall into a lot of EDM tropes that are big these days, but they’re executed well enough to make it pretty fun.
In fact, this whole album runs along those lines. There’s nothing revolutionary, nothing truly amazing, nothing game changing. There are some bad lyrics and some of the production is a bit derivative and unoriginal (at points). But Artpop is a ton of fun, and there are some solid pop songs scattered throughout here. It’s not an album worth revisiting, and it’s more of a pick-and-chose affair. But there are some solid picks here.
Summary: Despite some dreadful lyrics and some weak generic ideas and tropes, there are some great pop tracks on Artpop, with solid hooks and production tending to outnumber the mediocre ones.
Choice Cuts: Applause, Do What U Want, Aura, Swine
Leftovers: Jewels N’ Drugs (Potential “Worst Song of the Year”)
C+
You can stream Applause below (The video itself kind of sucks…). Artpop is out now on Streamline/Interscope
ALBUM REVIEW: Paul McCartney- New
This shocks people when I say this, but here we go: I’m not crazy about The Beatles or most of their solo efforts.. “But Sam, you love music! How can you not love the best music ever? They influenced everything you listen to!”. Sure, they were incredibly influences on pretty much all popular music today, and I really respect that. And I don’t hate the Beatles, I do love a lot of their songs and I’d call myself a casual fan. However, “Casual Fan” is as far as I would go, and the only album of there’s that I really love is Abbey Road. When everyone’s solo careers started, I was even less enthusiastic. George Harrison had some good stuff, but all of his albums were mixed bags. John Lennon’s solo career was bogged down with pretentious art projects and cheesy political songs. And don’t get me started on Ringo.
Of all the Beatles, I’ve liked McCartney’s solo work the most. His stuff with Wings was a lot of fun, and his first couple of solo albums were pretty great. I’m particularly fond of RAM, which is probably my favorite Non-Beatles effort by the group. I think that McCartney is a great songwriter and a very strong vocalist (Maybe I’m Amazed is one of my favorite vocal performances ever). However, McCartney hasn’t really been in his prime since the late 70s. Sure, every project he’s dropped has received a ton of hype, but there really hasn’t been anything worthwhile. Like pretty much every artist, there has been some deterioration in quality as he’s aged. New is no different.
New isn’t so much a bad project as it is a misguided one. There’s plenty to like here, especially if you like McCartney more than I do. His quaint style of songwriting is still there, and, despite his age, his vocals are top notch. He hits notes and delivers performances here that I couldn’t see people half his age pulling off. And there are quite a few songs here that are really, really good. Queenie Eye is a good bit of catchy fun, and Early Days makes the most of its subdued vibes. I Can Bet has a fun chorus, scrambled organs, and a really sweet outro. Plus, the arrangements on New are fantastic, and the song is really catchy.
However, the album as a whole is troubled with some inconsistency. I’m not a fan of clean and neutered production, and that is very prevalent here. Even the songs I really like are brought down a bit by all the shine and glimmer put on the guitars and McCartney’s voice. If the songs were stronger, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but the songs (for the most part) are only pretty good. Some nice choruses, some cool vocals, mostly tolerable arrangements (with a few exceptions), but Clorox-cleaned to the point where it makes songs less enjoyable.
Some arrangements, already too clean, are made worse by bad instrumental decisions. Hosanna, probably the weakest track on the album, has some weird effects at the beginning that lead into some guitar work that harkens back to awful early-2000s post-grunge. I think we’re all aware that McCartney can do a little better than that. The mixing on this album can also be troubling at times, with some of the confused instrumental arrangements taking too much attention away from McCartney. The first three tracks are brought down a lot with this problem, but for some reason it’s fixed by Queenie Eye.
However, most of the arrangements (Especially in the later half of the album) work very well. McCartney isn’t the issue on this album; he’s actually one of the best parts of it. He brings something fresh to even the most banal of songs. However, if we take McCartney out of the equation, the rest of the album is a squeaky clean mess. McCartney grounds it, and at times it can be very enjoyable. But New is just another late-in-career record that will probably leave most people hungry for an artist in their prime.
Summary: McCartney’s vocals and lyrics here are very well done, and there’s some great ideas in the second half. However, New is unfortunately brought down a notch with its too-clean production and some poor arrangement decisions.
Choice Cuts: New, Early Days
Leftovers: Hosanna, On My Way To Work
C+
Stream New below. New is out now on Hear Music.
RISING ARTIST/ALBUM REVIEW: Diarrhea Planet- I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
A couple of months ago, a video of New Jersey punk/Titus Andronicus leader doing a rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run with this 3-guitared band was all over music blogs. My first reaction to the video was “Ugh…Diarrhea Planet?”. It’s a terrible name for a band, and I still think it is. But, I was taught a lesson that day: Never judge a band by their horrible name. Because Diarrhea Planet is a MONSTER. They chugged their guitars triumphantly over Stickles and really brought something out of him.
While Titus Andronicus deals with dreary pessimism and socioeconomic issues with a heavier hand, Diarrhea Planet manages to bring a youthful Punk-Pop flavor to some more personal subjects. One thing that strikes me about this project is just how fantastically it nails the unnerving doom that graces all us poor suckers under 30. Despite the vicious guitars and glorious hooks, songs like Separations cover the emotions behind long-distance relationships, while Kids and The Sound of My Ceiling Fan manage to capture the hopelessness felt at the crossroads of life perfectly (and that ain’t hyperbole). Now, the lyrical themes aren’t entirely consistent (Album opener Heavy Metal is a dedication to VHS tapes and the movie Heavy Metal), but that’s never a problem for these guys.
The one thing, besides some incredibly well structured and written songs, that absolutely fetches me is the sound. The three guitars are tangle up into a giant vicious mountain of sound, one that reverberates in your ears and engulfs you in a way you won’t feel from many punk albums these days. I’d probably compare it to a less expansive The World Is a Beautiful Place or a more personal Torche. In fact, this stuff really blurs the lines between some of the great stoner metal from last year and the anthemic bliss of TItus and the like.
Plus, piece is weaker than any of the others. Vocalist Jordan Smith has a strong voice that really carries some of the ear worm melodies brilliantly. Plus, all three guitarists bring a lot of interesting and incredible riffs and ideas to the table. The chugs behind the drowning guitar line on Field of Dreams is one of the most mind numbingly awesome instrumental breaks this year (not to mention the thundering drums that immediately follow). These guys are great at milking moments of their resonance, and it never feels pandering or overwrought. The beautiful Kids starts as a melancholy drifter, transforms into a nearly folksy trot (and almost evokes some Real Estate), before exploding into a melting pot of emotion. It captures depression and desperate nostalgia in a powerful manner.
Now, there are moments that are less emotional, but they’re just as great. Pummeling romps like Hammer of the Gods and Togano are chant-alongs that really nail down the whole “Chant along” thing. And if you’re bigger on vicious solos and kick-ass tracks, this album has you covered. Ugliest Son will rip you apart and then show no remorse. Now, some might say “Eh…Power Punk can’t be that vicious”. But I’m Rich manages to do heavy than most of the mediocre metal albums I hear every year.
These are some really talented young guys, and this album already shows how great these guys are at what they do. It captures all the energy of those crazy possum ridden basement shows that they’ve been known for on YouTube. Can’t wait for whatever they do next.
Summary: I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams lives up to the wild singles that proceeded it, with explosive punk, stellar hooks, great instrumentation, and a perfect mix of emotional resonance and straight up punk pop.
Choice Cuts: Kids, The Sound of My Ceiling Fan, Separation, Field of Dreams
Leftovers: Enter the Great Gate
A (4.5-5/5)
Stream Kids and Separations (And, for kicks, that Born to Run w/ Stickles video) below. I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams is out 8/20 on Infinity Cat.
ALBUM REVIEW: Mac Miller-Watching Movies With the Sound Off
Mac Miller is one of several rappers that deeply confound me. I mean, just a few years ago, It was pretty easy to just ignore him. He was an act that teen girls always got really excited about. Back then I probably associated him with that idiotic Donald Trump song. Now (perhaps out of nowhere, or perhaps because I’ve just kind of ignored the guy) he drops an album featuring Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson…basically a ton of really talented and somewhat underground rappers.
I gave Blue Side Park a listen when it came out, and I found myself rather unimpressed. The production was OK, but Miller himself tends to stick to a monotone delivery that just kind of aggravates me. He also has a tendency to play with words sporadically, but what he’s saying never carries any weight. I was hoping, with all these features from proven lyricists, that he’d improve a bit as a rapper on Watching Movies With the Sound Off. Nope.
My biggest problem with this album, just like every other Miller project I’ve bothered to look into, is Miller himself. I can’t deny that he has some taste (Which I’ll get to). But he constantly puts himself with musicians that only accent how mediocre Miller is as a rapper. Miller relies almost entirely on a laid back and collected flow. Sometimes he does bring a slight variant to the style (like on the hilariously ignorant Goosebumpz), but for the most part his flow doesn’t change. Even worse than his flow’s tendency to switch into monotony is his bland delivery. Throughout the tape, Mac Miller just comes across as disinterested and bored. The guy puts the same lack of soul and effort into tracks that are supposed to be powerful (Like the missed-opportunity REMember or the painfully generic Youforia) as he does on tracks where he raps about smoking weed and having sex…which he does a lot. Plus, there’s no sense of lyrical creativity on much of the album. I mean, can someone tell him that Danny Brown did basically the same thing Miller did on Birdcall two years ago on Monopoly?
When Miller isn’t rapping, he’s delivering half sung hooks. The hooks on this album are probably some of the worst hooks I’ve heard on a Hip-Hop album this year. Miller delivers them with the same lazy lack of gravitas that permeates the rest of his music. Not one hook (Save the ignorant Goosebumpz) sounds different from another. It’s terrible. Miller tries for several catchy moments throughout the album, and a heavy majority of these attempts just fall flat on their faces.
What really saddens me about this album is that Miller brings in a hugely talented base of collaborators, but he completely underutilized them. Aside from shining moments of hope from Ab-Soul and Action Bronson (and Jay Electronica, depending on how I’m feeling), the guests and producers kind of sank into Miller’s bland quicksand. Schoolboy Q drops a sadly underwhelming verse, and Earl and Tyler bring serviceable yet forgettable contributions to the table (Thought it’s nice to note that Tyler is continuing to experiment with new production styles on OK).
Something else that makes Watching Movies With the Sound Off a mind-boggling bummer is the fact that, despite the plethora of great producers brought in, none of them can save some of the songs they’re on. Flying Lotus is one of the most creative producers around today, but his beat on S.D.S. feels kind of generic and uninspired. Plus, while I love Clams Casino, his contribution on tracks like Youforia and Bird Call feel like retreads…retreads that can’t save the mediocre songs they’re supporting. Alchemist and Pharrell bring some of the best beats to the table, but they don’t hold a candle to some of their finer work. The only beat I really liked on here, surprisingly, was the Tyler beat on OK. It wasn’t brilliant, but at least it tried something different.
Watching Movies With the Sound Off isn’t necessarily an excruciating listen. While there are some moments that are unbearable, most of it is at least tolerable. And there are some songs that manage to overcome the problems that bring the album down. As I said before, Red Dot Music has some ok production and a really nice Action Bronson feature. Ab-Soul practically saves Matches from being completely mediocre. Plus there are moments where Miller does get somewhere lyrically (He gets there on I Am Who I Am). What this album needed was more of these moments, and less of Miller’s unnecessary self-indulgence.
Summary: Watching Movies With the Sound Off just reaffirms Miller as rather bland rapper who relies too much on mediocre hooks and barely interesting subject matter. It also doesn’t help that the collaborators are surprisingly weak.
Choice Cuts: Goosebumpz, OK, Red Dot Music
Leftovers: Youforia, Goes, Watching Movies
1.5/5
Watching Movies With the Sound Off is out now on Rostrum Records.
What’s your opinion on Watching Movies With the Sound Off? Is Mac Miller a fresh Hip-Hop sensation or just someone who can make an OK pop song…or is he an overrated and mediocre rapper? Also, what do you think I should review next?
EP REVIEW: Kid Ink- Almost Home
Kid Ink is one of those rappers that you always hear the name of, but you never really hear the music. He released his own album independently, and he was on 2012’s XXL Freshmen list. That year, he was the rapper who we all say “Who the hell is that?” about every year. Well, this year he got a major label (RCA) to release his latest mixtape. Since he has received quite a bit of hype, I figured I’d try his music out. I immediately regret this decision.
Unlike some XXL Freshmen, Kid Ink really feels like symbol for the regression of Hip-Hop. Lame lyrics, generic trap beats, and good ol’ American ignorance are sprinkled on every track. Take the overwhelmingly long Bossin’ Up. The beat is soulless and genetically engineered for a similarly soulless club where Ciroq is served and the lights are all a dim dark blue. There are guest verses from French Montana and A$AP Ferg, but only Ferg brings anything remotely interesting to the track. And then there’s Kid Ink himself, who I can honestly say is the most boring, uninteresting rapper I’ve ever heard. Nothing he says carries and weight or sense of creativity. The closest thing that neared “interesting” was the line “It’s Clear who been getting to the bread like Panera”, and that’s only interesting because it’s laughably awful.
Kid Ink lacks any real sense of charisma, both in lyrical delivery and lyrics themselves. The lyrics follow the typical “Getting Money, Having Sex With Women” formula that Hip-Hop tends to follow. But there’s no twist or interesting angle on it. The only times his classical ignorance veers into interesting territory is the line “Martin had a dream, I’ve been dreamin’ bout gold” on the awful Money and Power, and that’s only because it’s borderline offensive. Plus, his dopey and plain flow makes his lyrical incompetence even more apparent. This sounds about as skillful as any mediocre mixtape you can pull up on Datpiff for free.
The production ranges from “Painfully generic” to “Almost inspired?”, with Was it Worth It being the only track that brought something to the table that wasn’t sleep inducing. Most of the production is the uninspired club/trap stuff that’s dominated more inspired tracks by Drake. Plus, Ink tends to tack on lame and grimace inducing choruses throughout the EP. None of them are remotely catchy or fun. They all just seem to say “Oh hey, we needed to put a chorus here”. Plus, Kid Ink is an even worse hook singer than he is a rapper.
I’d go into specifics of songs, but they all sound the same. Ignorant Hip-Hop lyricism and production is fine when the music is interesting or the song is fun. Sadly, Kid Ink brings neither to the table. He simply brings awful lyrics, bad production, and pathetic excuse for a project.
Summary: Almost Home is a terrible EP. It’s generic, blandly produced, and only shows off all the problems with Kid Ink as both a lyricist and MC.
Choice Cuts: Was It Worth It (If I had to pick)
Leftovers: Every other track.
.5/5
Almost Home is out now on RCA.
EP REVIEW: TEEN- Carolina
Late last summer, I reviewed In Limbo by the Brooklyn all-female group TEEN. The album was flawed and some of the material was a bit stale. But for the most part, I liked it. It was a debut that held a lot of promise for things to come from the group, especially with the album opener Better. This year, we got a short little follow up to that album…but sadly it is not better (Pun completely intended. And I apologize).
The band did away with a lot of the stuff I didn’t like about their debut, including the road-to-nowhere ballads that I didn’t care for. Every song here manages to feel energetic, and they surprisingly never overstay their welcome. There are some cool guitar riffs, some energetic percussion, and a new sense of direction that was somewhat not there before. TEEN improved in this regard, but sadly, that’s about the only place where they improved.
The best adjective I can use to describe this project is “Messy”. Every one of these five tracks comes across as unorganized and afraid to truly settle. A lot of it sounds dissonant, but I don’t think it’s on purpose. For some reason, Teeny Lieberson’s vocals come across as less commanding and more confused. On the debut album, she sounded like a fierce and controlling lead vocalist. Here, on tracks like Carolina, she sounds uncomfortable and unsure. Without her command the rest of the music falls apart behind her. I really like the guitar on this project, but the weird synth work on every song just feels tacked on to make it fit with the “TEEN Sound”.
In fact, my biggest gripe with this project is for sure the synth work. Perfectly OK pop songs like Circus are absolutely ruined by the obnoxious synth-work. The synths just repeat scrambled and ugly melodies over and over and over again. Plus, while the synths on In Limbo really helped amplify the emotion and lyrics of some songs, here they act like more of a hindrance. Plus, a lot of the synths feel completely unnecessary. Cannibal is a perfectly nice song with the light guitar and cool clapping percussion. Does it need the scrambled synth ambiance in the back? I think not.
Overall, Carolina is a step backward for this group. Even without the horrendous and lazy synths, the EP still doesn’t bring anything really interesting to the table. The only track that is remotely near the caliber of their debut is Cannibal, and even that feels like a bit of a throwaway. Carolina is just really underwhelming and pretty mediocre.
Summary: I hope Carolina is a collection of throwaways, because the lazy synth work and uninspired vocals ruin songs that were already only OK to begin with.
Choice Cuts: Cannibal
Leftovers: Circus, Glass Cage
2/5
Stream Carolina below. Carolina is out now on Carpark
LATE ALBUM REVIEW ROUNDUP: Late February- Early April 2013 (PART I)
So, in my hiatus I missed a lot of albums. I’d like to get some kind of opinion out there, so that it doesn’t seem like I totally skipped over some albums (Quite a few of them are recommended listens). Plus, with stuff from The Knife, James Blake, Kurt Vile, and more coming out, I just don’t have the time to give a lot of this stuff proper reviews. So, here’s a roundup!
Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety
Who?: Art pop and R&B artist from Brooklyn, NY
How Do I Feel About It?: It’s a good album that’s too heavy for its britches. It loses traction by the end, but there are some great ideas, especially in the first half.
Choice Cuts: Play by Play, Counting
Leftovers: Ego Free, Sex Free
Score: 3.5/5
Caveman, Caveman
Who?: Indie Rock group from New York
How Do I Feel About It?: I liked this album. It’s really gorgeous and spacious, so even if it drags on a bit you can get lost in the sound. I also like the guitars and how gorgeously executed the sonic elements are.
Choice Cuts: In the City, I See You
Leftovers: Strange To Suffer, Strange
Score: 4/5 (RECOMMENDED LISTEN!!!)
Charles Bradley, Victim of Love
Who?: 64 year old soul singer who was only recently signed for his 2011 debut, No Time For Dreaming. This is his sophomore album.
How Do I Feel About It?: Great soul music here. Each song manages to combine Bradley’s old, tortured soul with a flair that evokes a feeling of classic 70s soul, like Al Green and Marvin Gaye. Plus, Bradley has some great pipes.
Choice Cuts: Strictly Reserved For You
Leftovers: Love Bug Blues
Score: 4/5 (RECOMMENDED LISTEN!!!)
The Dear Hunter, Migrant
Who?: Boston alt rock group with a wide set of influences and sounds, this is their follow up to their fantastic colors EP series
How Do I Feel About It?: It’s really boring and generic. This does absolutely nothing for me, with no great ideas, and really dopey lyricism. It’s especially disappointing considering ow much I loved his color EPs.
Choice Cuts: An Escape
Leftovers: Shouting At the Rain, Bring You Down
Score: 2/5
Kvelertak, Meir
Who?: A Norwegian Hardcore Punk/Black Metal/ Hard Rock (They combined the three genres) group, with their major label debut (Warner Bros. Sub-label Roadrunner)
How Do I Feel About It?: I’m normally not a man of metal, and about 60% of punk leaves me cold. But this album is awesome. There’s some cool classic rock influences on Bruane Brenn, sweet dynamics all over the place (see Evig Vandrar), and an intense amount of energy. The album is very well put together, and it never drags, which is one problem I tend to have with a lot of harder music. Also, there are a ton of awesome guitar solos on here. I haven’t heard their debut, but this makes me want to visit it.
Choice Cuts: Apenbaring, Bruane Brenn, Nekrokosmos, Tordenbrak
Leftovers: Kvelertak, Manelyst
Score: 4.5/5 (RECOMENDED LISTEN!!!)
Lapalux, Nostalchic
Who? A R&B/ House artist signed to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label
How Do I Feel About It?: This music is absolutely mesmerizing. Even when the album technically loses steam in the second half, it still has a strange and enthralling feeling to it. It’s adventurous, beautiful, and totally worthy of Brainfeeder’s awesome lineup
Choice Cuts: IAMSYS, Guuurl, Without You
Leftovers: The Dead Sea
Score: 4/5 (RECOMENDED LISTEN!!!)
Lil Wayne, I Am Not A Human Being II
Who?: Famous Rapper Lil Wayne’s new album
How Do I Feel About It?:
Choice Cuts: B*tches Love Me
Leftovers: Literally everything else.
Score: .5/5
Milk Music, Cruise Your Illusion
Who?: An Indie Noise Rock group from Washington
How Do I Feel About It: This is a nice album. It does drag a bit towards the middle, and I’m not the biggest fan of the vocals (His voice is a grower). However, I absolutely love the guitar tones and playing here, and the finale is absolutely fantastic. It’s an album that, while I don’t love it (yet), I keep revisiting it. try it out.
Choice Cuts: The Final Scene, Illegal and Free
Leftovers: Dogchild
Score: 3.5/5
Phosphorescent, Muchacho
Who?: A folk and Americana act originally from Georgia
How Do I Feel About It?: As a lover a folk, this is nearly everything I want in a folk album. Great production, wonderful songwriting, along with elements that make songs different and interesting, something that can be hard for Folk music.
Choice Cuts: Sun Arise!, Song For Zula, Ride On/ Right On
Leftovers: The Quotidian Beasts
Score: 4.5/5 (RECOMMENDED LISTEN!!!)
They Might Be Giants, Nanobots
Who?: Indie Pop group that’s been around for…a very long time.
How Do I Feel About It?: there are some nice songs here, but most of the short skits are just throwaway ideas that aren’t worth hearing.
Choice Cuts: You’re On Fire
Leftovers: Like, any song that’s under a minute long.
Score: 2.5-3/5
Rhye, Open
Who?: A “Sophisti-pop” act from LA, which mixes House influences with that new How To Dress Well R&B
How Do I Feel About It: This is a really great debut album. The sounds are all spacious, sparse, and gorgeous. Plus, there are a lot of well written, infectious songs. Plus, I haven’t heard an album this sexy in a long time.
Choice Cuts: Open, The Fall
Leftovers: Woman
Score: 4/5 (RECOMMENDED LISTEN!!!)
Waxahatchee, Cerulean Salt
Who?: An alt Signer-Songwriter and Indie Folk act currently from Brooklyn
How Do I Feel About It: This is a great album. The guitars, her voice, and her somewhat unorthodox songwriting is absolutely stellar, and this shows promise for even more greatness to come
Choice Cuts; Hollow Bedroom, Swan Dive, You’re Damaged
Leftovers: Waiting
Score: 4.5/5 (RECOMMENDED LISTEN!!!)
Youth Lagoon, Wondrous Bughouse
Who?: A former-bedroom dream pop act from Boise, Idaho. This is his sophomore effort.
How I Feel About It: This album isn’t as fantastic as his debut, but there’s still a lot of greatness here. While sometimes the emotional punch feels missing, it’s still there (Dropla), and some of the psychedelic additions work really well, even if they aren’t as mind-numbingly good as the spacious keys on his debut.
Choice Cuts: Mute, Dropla
Leftovers: Attic Doctor
Score: 4/5 (RECOMMENDED LISTEN!!!)
There will be a part II (hopefully), and that is where I will try to cover anything else I’ve missed or put off (Looking at you Bowie). In order to make this easier for me, and easier for the future, what albums have I missed that you want me to cover? And which future releases do you want me to cover as we move further into April?
MIXTAPE REVIEW: Kool A.D.- 19 and 63
Das Racist is broken up. No more Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. No more Girl. No more Rainbow in the Dark. No more Michael Jackson. Now more Who’s That? Broooooown. No more Das Racist.
Now, the three former members have to go out on their own and figure out what to do. Dapwell didn’t really do anything in the group to begin with, so I’m not sure what his plan is. Plus, Heems should be totally fine on his own. His last mixtape, Nehru Jackets, was pretty great. But then there’s Kool A.D.. He’s probably the better lyricist, but his mixtapes have been leaving me yearning for more. His Palm Wine Drinkard tape was a messy excuse for some kind of experimental music thing. And then 51 was forgotten about 5 minutes after I heard it. I want Kool A.D. to blow the world away with his masterful lyrics and weird musical style, but he’s yet to really prove that.
19 and 63 both don’t really help.
The first mixtape, 19, is probably one of the worst Das Racist affiliated projects out there. It’s not as bad as Palm Wine (Which was easily one of the most disappointing releases of 2012.), but it is still bad. The production is incredibly messy, the lyrics are unfunny and not innovating (Just repeating “Bieber” over 
and over again is neither funny nor a proper form of social commentary). In fact, a lot of this feels like some kind of Chief Keef/ Odd Future cross over, which is just gross. He might be trying to satirize this style (Which, for Kool A.D., wouldn’t be a shock), but it just comes across as…well…forced. The only part I enjoyed was Krispy Kreme (I believe it was Krispy Kreme) ranting over the Workaholics theme. And even that was stupid.
The second mixtape, 63, is nearly good, but it’s still kind of underwhelming when we compare it to Das Racist’s greatest works. While 19 is focused on wonky and ugly beats, 63 takes R&B and eccentric 70s styles and meshes them into a weird concoction of weird. It’s a lot of fun, and there are some tracks that truly are great. The posse cuts are great, and all of the unknowns here bring something to the table, which is kind of strange in this day and age. However, there aren’t any tracks that really stick out in memory. It’s all very pleasant, but it doesn’t stick. Basically, the only thing that made me like this album way more than 19 was the more traditional sampling.
I miss Das Racist quite a bit, and I’ll always wish they stayed together. Now, I’m just worried about Kool A.D. Heems can live in a post-Das Racist world. I’m not as confident with Kool A.D.
Summary: 19 and 63 vary in quality, but neither really cement Kool A.D. as the talented rapper and lyricist he was in Das Racist.
Choice Cuts: Sclera, Red Wine
19- 2/5
63- 3/5
You can download both mixtapes here.
Vantage Point Music 