Cathleen John - "Interioris Nucleum" 2013
Keep these awesome mixes coming, please.... Listen here.
Lil B - "Trapped In Basedworld" 2012
If you want to read my full thesis on Lil B, scroll down to the last review in the previous post. This album is pretty funny and has some tight beats. Check out "Connected In Jail", "MMMMMMM DAMN", and "Beez In Da Hood"
Mr. Oizo - "Unreleased Unfinished Unpleasant" 2012
The title is pretty self-explanitory. This was a free download through his site. Here is a link to download free through his Soundcloud. A lot of this reminds me of "Moustache/Cut In Half" era material, which I enjoy a lot, and there's really only 2 of these songs that actually fall into the "unpleasant" realm. Obviously he's one of my favorite artists out there, so my opinion on him might be a little skewed. Check out "Hidolls", "Mositif", and "Pepa & Pepa".
The Beatfonics Crew - "Audiosincretismo #2.22" 2013
This is from a Mixcloud page from an Italian blog/magazine that started following my page, so I decided to check them out. Lots of cool instrumental hip hop style mixes is mostly what it seems like they're into, and you know I love that. Listen to this mix here.
O Benjamim - "Equinox #1" 2013
This is someone from Portugal that started following me on Mixcloud, so I decided to check them out. A lot of this mix is a little too poppy for my tastes, but it's very smooth and professional, and there's still some good songs on here I like too. See for yourself.
How To Destroy Angels - "Welcome Oblivion" 2013
For those that don't know, this is Trent Reznor and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig. She handles most of the vocals, but Trent does sing a little too. There is also a couple instrumental tracks as well. He has definitely followed through on what he talked about in his interviews during "The Fragile" era, where he said after Nine Inch Nails was done, he wanted to do his own version of Portishead, with him producing for a female vocalist. I enjoy the end results for the most part. This album isn't phenomenal, but it's a really solid piece of work. In certain ways, it reminds me of Puscifer, although stylistically it really doesn't resemble that project that much, so I don't know why that is exactly. Check out "Ice Age", which I think is an awesome acoustic based song, the lead single- "How Long", and also "And The Sky Began To Scream".
Cranes - "Future Songs" 2001
A friend handed me a few CD's a couple weeks ago, this being one of them. I had never heard of this band before, but apparently this is their 7th album. They were active from 1989-1997 and then broke up. They reformed with a new lineup in 2000, and this was the first new album to come from that. Everything I read about this album says that it was a significant change in style from their older material, so now i'll have to go back and check out that stuff to see what's up. I really like her voice, which is pretty unique sounding, and the overall production and mixing of this album is also very unique. It's like a gothic version of pop rock, but the singer is so innocent sounding it makes for a good contrast. I would recommend this to someone who likes both The Cure and April March. That's the best way I could describe it. Check out "Future Song", "Fragile (Remix)", and "Sunrise".
J. Cole - "Truly Yours" 2013
J. Cole was one of the rising stars in hip hop 3 or so years ago, but lately it seems like he's been dormant, or even absent from the scene. This is a little EP to keep him fresh in people's minds. The lyrics on here are very well put together, but kind of on an emo tip, which I wasn't expecting. Just him talking about his feelings and stuff. There's actually no weak tracks on here, to be honest. The beats are all pretty solid too. A lot of nice stuff with live instrumentation that is still rooted firmly within the laid back hip hop styles he needs. Check out "Rise Above", "Tears For ODB", and "Stay (2009)".
O Benjamim - "Equinox #2" 2013
I think I like this one a little better than part 1. Listen here.
Peter Hope - "45 Wrong Revolutions Per Minute" 2013
Man, I gotta give it up to Mike Textbeak, for culling so many different weirdos as guest DJ's for his podcast series. I think maybe this particular mix is only OK for my personal tastes, but it's definitely interesting. Check it out here.
Sweet Valley - "Eternal Champ" 2012
This is a fun side project from the main dude from Wavves and his brother. I personally like this stuff way more than I like Wavves material, but it's also more geared to my tastes. This is full of illegal samples, hence the free download aspect. A lot of this stuff was culled from video games too, like the N64 Zelda game, in particular. Really fun and highly recommended. Free download or listen here.
The Underacheivers - "Indigoism" 2013
These guys are a new rap duo from Brooklyn, and guess what? They can actually rap really good, unlike almost every single new "hot MC" out there nowadays. I feel like these guys are young and hungry, and have a style that would have went over well in almost every era previous to now, as well as now. Flying Lotus scooped these guys up and put them on his Brainfeeder label. It seems like he has a keen ear and actually knows what's going on in hip hop today, in terms of people that are actually tight and not just a bunch of hype. Check out "Herb Shuttles", "The Mahdi", and "Gold Soul Theory".
Global Goon - "Horizon" 2012
I've only recently been getting into this guy's music for the last couple years, but doing some research, I found out that he got his start with Aphex Twin and Rephlex Records, and that Richard James used to be his roommate. This explains so much about his sound, and how it seems so advanced. He's put out such a flurry of releases within the last year, that i'm still playing catch up. This album is pretty dreamy, if I had to think of a one word description. It's like trip hop with elements of acid techno thrown in, but it's never offputting. Most of these songs are actually calming in a way. Check out "Rho Goon", the only song I can find a link to anywhere online. His bandcamp and soundcloud pages are shut down right now for some reason, and this particular album isn't available on beatport right now for some reason, only 3 other random ones.
Bruno Mars - "Unorthodox Jukebox" 2012
It's cool to see an artist like him becoming one of the new breakout pop stars of the world. He seems very versatile, like he could competently perform any style song from any genre. My only issue is that there are no songs on here that I think are spectacular, or even really standout. It's just a bunch of cool sounding pop songs that sound better than the average radio bullshit. I hope this is just a glimpse of what he has to offer in the future, and not the peak of his career, because that would be a shame. Check out "When I Was Your Man", "Locked Out Of Heaven", and "Grenade".
Cathleen John - "Miraculum Lux" 2013
This might be my favorite mix that i've heard from her so far. Check it out here.
Monica Rene Rochester - "Ides Of March Beware" 2013
This mix is like a lesson is sound textures. Feel the vibes here.
Kavinsky - "OutRun" 2013
So, Kavinsky FINALLY put this album out for real. Anyone hoping for an actual album full of new material will be sorely disappointed. I don't understand how in this day and age, someone can think it's OK to pretty much repackage the same songs repeatedly for 6-7 years in a row, but that's what he's doing. Looking at this just as purely an LP with these songs on it, it's pretty decent, but for someone like me that has all the EP's and the Drive Soundtrack already, there's only a few new songs to be heard here, and none of them are really that great either. I think he didn't want to put out a disappointing album, so he made this like his greatest hits so far, but that in itself is disappointing. Check out "Protovision", "Dead Cruiser", the ever popular "Nightcall", and "Testarossa Autodrive".
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