June 2012 Hotlist Week 2

I Self Devine - "The Sound Of Low Class Amerika" 2012

After giving us 3 free albums already this year, this is the official one he's charging money for. First off, let me say that the title is very appropriate, and there is not one single weak track on here. I Self is one of the most underrated political artists out there, and this is his best work to date.

Tom Hagerman - "The Breakfast Playground" 2007

Solo album from the string arranger/accordion player from Devotchka. Mostly just good background music consisting of various string instruments, accordion, and toy piano.

"Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1968-1974"

Another great Now Again compilation. I can just blindly buy these and know they'll be good.

Amon Tobin, JD Mayer, Jim Dooley, Mel Wesson - "Infamous Soundtrack" 2009

Soundtrack to a video game i've never played. Great electronic meets cinematic classical music sounds.

Quakers - "Quakers Instrumentals" 2012

Usually when people put out the instrumental version of rap albums, I prefer one version over the other. Either the rapper annoys or bores me but I like the beats, or the beats are boring without the rappers. This album sounds about the same either way though, vocals or no. I'm still diggin this one.

Dose One - "Art Of The Demo Megamix" 2012

So apparently, Dose One listens to every single demo anyone has ever given him, and this is his mix of his favorite tracks from them over the years. There is some truly hilarious and unforgettable songs on here, and i'm glad he put this together.

"Soul Cal: Funky Disco & Modern Soul 1971-1982"

I can't stress enough how good the people at Now Again are at collecting these gems from the past.

Jel - "Greenball 3.5" 2012

Some more of Jel's old beats from the 90's. It seems he's probably used up anything from this era that was actually interesting. These sound like skeleton beats of his or practice beats.

Apparat - "The Devil's Walk" 2011

Before this album came out, I was really anticipating it. He seemed to be poised to take it to the next level after his decent 2007 debut, and then the enjoyable collabo he did with Modeselektor called Moderat, but this album just falls flat for me. He seems to have scaled back the detailed production he had been building up, in favor of some regular sounding orchestral arrangements on some tracks. He's also fell into the what seems to be nowdays, the common pratfall of the hot new electronic artist, which is to try and sing to appeal to a wider (possibly Coldplay listening) audience. Much like RJD2 and Lorn, it just seems like he really has no business singing, and anything that would be good about these songs is taken away for me and makes me wish for instrumental versions.

June 2012 Hotlist Week 1

Shigeto - "Daytrotter Studio 1/18/12"

Pretty impressive little 16 minute live set. He's pulling off the jazz/electronic blend really well now.

Lorn - "Ask The Dust" 2012

I heard that the official release of this that comes out later this month has 4 more songs on it, which is cool, but I have a feeling even after that I'm still going to be wanting a little more out of this album than it has to give. He's adding some breathy, low vocals to his mix, and it doesn't really do much for me. Maybe i'll enjoy this more with repeat listens, and in better quality, but it seems a bit disappointing at first glance.

Devotchka - "Curse Your Little Heart" 2006

This EP was my first exposure to this great band , and it still sounds great.

Wild Flag - "Wild Flag" 2011

Carrie Brownstein somehow had time to record and tour for this in between seasons of Portlandia. It's not a whole lot different from her Sleater-Kinney stuff, so depending on how you feel about that band, you might wanna check this out. Decent female fronted rock that's not too hard or soft sounding.

Jonwayne - "Jonwayne Fucks Disney" 2012

A free download that is blowing my mind. Apparently he made this all relatively fast on his Roland SP-404 with samples from youtube. He takes some very interesting chops and makes it extra creepy.

Bruce Haack - "Remixes" 2012

Stones Throw released this EP of remixes of Bruce Haack songs. I already previously had the Jonti and Peanut Butter Wolf ones, but all 8 of these tracks are superb and do not disappoint. The Samiyam one is especially good.

Devotchka & Mychael Danna - "Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack" 2006

This is a really nice soundtrack. A Devotchka song that only appears on this album is one of their better tracks, and even though it has a couple songs that are the same versions as their albums, it also has some cool instrumental, movie score versions of some of the songs too.

Eliot Lipp - "Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake" 2012

Eliot Lipp is one of those artists who I know is talented, but it seems like all his albums always leave something to be desired. This album has everything I want in an electronic album, but yet it still comes off as only being OK for some reason. There's still some good tracks on here.

Masta Ace & MF Doom - "MA_DOOM: Son Of Yvonne" 2012

I don't know what the deal is with this album. It's clearly another one of Masta Ace's story/movie type albums, like Prince Paul style, but it's over a bunch of old, not new, MF Doom beats. These are the same beats everyone's been hearing for years. The album is cool, but nothing special, and almost sounds like it was recorded 10 years ago and was shelved.

Louis C.K. - "Shameless" 2012

An HBO special from a few years ago, finally released as an audio version. This set is great, and almost a little more raw than some of his newer material.

9th Wonder - "Tutankhamen (Valley Of The Kings)" 2012

Collection of 30 of his beats. Pretty decent, but as always with him, a little repetitive too.

Hannibal Buress - "Animal Furnace" 2012

After hearing the audio version of this, i'm disappointed at how they edited his timing on Comedy Central. Ahh well, at least he's getting the exposure he deserves. He's easily one of the funniest comics out there, and this is a good set too.

AM & Shawn Lee - "Celestial Electric" 2011

Pulled this one back into the main rotation. I love this mix of funk and soft rock. I would recommend this to people who like Mayer Hawthorne, even though I don't think it sounds that much like him at all, if that makes any sense.

May 2012 Hotlist Week 4

Slugabed - "Time Team" 2012

Nice little spacey "beat scene" album. I had a few of these songs already from previous EP's, but this works great as a cohesive full length LP. One of the best new releases out right now, easily.

The MC Type - "Bad Tattoos Vol. 1" 2012

This EP reminds me of what Grieves used to sound like on his first album, "Irreversible". That is a good thing.

Gold Panda - "Mountain" 2012

I really like the way the title track builds it's way from a trip-hop sounding beat into some crazy wonkyness. The B-side isn't quite as good to me, but still cool.

A-Trak - "Boiler Room #91" 2012

This set surprised me, because I haven't checked out a set of his in about 3 years, and he was really trying to prove himself within the electro world during that era. I didn't mind, obviously, but I felt like his turntable skills were going to waste a little bit. This is a mostly hip hop set that has a steady high energy all the way through. I especially like the section near the end where he's re-creating a couple songs from Donuts by juggling the original samples.

Marc Maron & Danny McBride - "WTF Podcast #280" 2012

Pretty interesting interview. I didn't really know anything about his background or how he got started before "The Foot Fist Way". I like hearing success stories like his.

The Alchemist - "Rapper's Best Friend 2" 2012

Some of these beats are really stellar and pretty much exactly what i'm looking for in a hip hop beat nowadays. This is a fun album to drive around and bump loud. I'm sure the title doesn't lie and rappers love freestyling on it too.

Max B & Isaiah Toothtaker - "Toothy Wavy" 2012

This is a tough one. I really like everything about this EP except the fact that Max B is in jail and all his vocals are done through shitty jail phones. This stuff is actually really unique sounding.

Amon Tobin - "Out From Out Where" 2002

Listening to this now, it's hard to believe it's already 10 years old. Clearly he was/is way ahead of the game.

Devin The Dude - "Seriously Trippin" 2012

This isn't terrible, but this EP seems like something he did for some quick money or something.

Tyler The Creator - "Goblin" 2011

This album has it's moments, but I still don't see what the big deal is. This is the type of stuff that would have flopped in the late 90's, I find it kinda interesting.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Hummingbird" 2012

This little 4 song EP is awesome. Really "big" sounding production for him. Sounds almost like it was recorded in the 70's. I hope a full length in this style is coming soon.

Sunspot Jonz - "Galaxy Of Dreams Two" 2012

I wasn't even aware of the first volume of this series from last year, so i'll have to go back and grab that one too. This is pretty standard fare for Sunspot, who definitely has his own little style within the underground hip hop scene. It's comforting to know that an artist that I unintentionally stopped paying attention to the last couple years is still kickin out quality product and a lot of it.

Toro Y Moi - "Freaking Out" 2011

Really enjoyable EP that seems to be a collection of dancefloor fillers. I would recommend this to people who like Chromeo.

The Pharcyde - "Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde: The Singles Collection"

All the vinyl singles from the album compiled on 2 discs. Pretty good DJ candy.

Mac Lethal - "Daytrotter Studio 1/27/2012"

I don't know what's up with the 1950's microphone he uses, but the "Bird Feeder" song sounds good like this. The other 2, not so much.

Louis C.K. - "Word- Live At Carnegie Hall" 2012

Super funny set, as usual for him. This was from 2010, I think? He did basically the same set here one of the times I saw him.

Devotchka - "How It Ends" 2004

This is the album they really came into their style and found it. It's nice to hear this stuff again now that it's not played out to me anymore. I really burnt myself out on them for a bit.

Amon Tobin - "Foley Room" 2007

I think at this point, this is the most solid work of his career. A classic LP.

Death Grips - "The Money Store" 2012

I just don't see what the hype behind this project is. I get it that Zach Hill is dope at making beats, but this "rapper" has got to go. He's like all the worst aspects and flaws of Saul Williams, P.O.S., and Ol Dirty Bastard, rolled into one shitty hollering homeless dude.