Album Reviews: September 2013 Week 3

Kanye West - "Yeezus" 2013

Kanye always seems to have the knack to find the sounds within the underground that might be on the next wave of progression within a pop sense, and then either try to manufacture his own version of those sounds, or actually hire some of the people who already were making those sounds to collaborate with him. Judging from this album's feel, Kanye seems to really be into Death Grips, but also stuff like Hudson Mohawke (who actually appears as a collaborator here) and Major Lazer. Stuff that is loud and sparse and in your face. It's too bad most of these songs sound so hollow and almost demo-like compared to the stuff he was trying to emulate or expand upon. I commend him for at least a half assed attempt at being progressive, but it is just that: a half assed attempt. I feel like if he actually worked on an album like this and crafted it a little more instead of just throwing it together and hoping his talent will carry him through, it would be pretty decent. He was probably looking for some fly by the seat of your pants, heat of the moment type vibe, but it just seems rushed and unfinished to me. Still, people as popular as him taking chances is more exciting than them being complacent and boring. I just wish there was more substance to it. Check out the video for "Black Skinhead". (this song sounds like Depeche Mode doing a hip hop cover of Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll Part 2"). Also check out "Bound 2" featuring Charlie Wilson, "Send It Up" featuring King Louie, and "Blood On The Leaves".

Thundercat - "Apocalypse" 2013

Thundercat is an anomaly to the music world, but so incredibly talented that I don't think he'll be a relative unknown within pop culture for too much longer. First of all, he's probably one of the most skilled bass players alive. He works the strings with Buckethead-like precision and flair. He has an incredible ear for production, and his songs sound both futuristic and timeless, with hints of the past. This album is much more easily digestible than his debut was, and he definitely avoids the sophomore slump with this new one as well. There's a lot less instrumental beat scene oriented stuff and more vocals. His voice falls somewhere in between Phonte and Michael McDonald for me, and i'm not saying that as a diss, I like Michael McDonald's less cheesy stuff. This album just gets better and better the more I get familiar with it too. I like how he's able to infuse some jazz aesthetics into his formula and make it the opposite of stuffy and old sounding. I think more people would be into jazz if more of it was in this vein. If you ever get an opportunity to catch him live, do not pass it up. He has one of the best live shows i've ever seen. Check out this funny video for "Oh Sheit, It's X" utilizing a scene from Fritz The Cat. Also check out "Heartbreaks + Setbacks", "Lotus & The Jondy", and the awesome album closer "A Message For Austin/ Praise The Lord / Enter The Void".

Atoms For Peace - "Before Your Very Eyes/ Magic Beanz" 2013

I like both of these songs a lot actually. "Before Your Very Eyes" is a nice song that sounds like a single. Thom's voice is almost slightly muted instead of all over the track like it usually is. It's kind of nice, almost soothing. "Magic Beanz" has more of that muted vocal sound, but the production reminds me of a combination of Kid A and The Eraser. It's a great B-side. Check out "Before Your Very Eyes" and "Magic Beanz"

Omar Rodriguez Lopez - "Solo Extrano" 2013

At this point I just randomly check out new releases from him from time to time. He puts out so much material, there's no way any sane person with any other interests could keep up. This one is very bass heavy and thick sounding with a very woozy vibe, overall. Lots of reverb on everything, especially the vocals. This doesn't sound bad compared to some of his more experimental offerings, but it also doesn't sound good compared to come of his more focused approaches. I would still recommend this to fans of him though. It's worth a listen. It works good for background music, particularly in a smoky room. Check out "Turn For Caring", "House In The Sand", and "Discursos".

Culprate - "Summer Lovin (Best Unheard Of 2005-2009)" 2012

He is normally known for making a sort of progressive form of dubstep, but this little EP of stuff he made when he was younger sounds more like u-ziq and Squarepusher, which is actually pretty awesome. I'd love for him to put out a full length LP showcasing a wealth of different styles, because I think he's a really talented dude. Check out "Moody Antiquities", the only song off this on youtube for whatever reason. You can listen to and download it from bandcamp though.

Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric - "Czarface" 2013

Outside of a few flashes of brilliance here and there, i've always thought of 7L & Esoteric as kind of dorky and annoying for the most part. A couple dudes trying to do their best impressions of people they admire and occasionally succeeding at making a dope song. This album they both seem to try and step up when sharing an album with a Wu Tang member. Most of the beats are pretty cool, within the east coast boom bap realm, and i'll even go so far as to say that Esoteric outshines Inspectah Deck as an MC on this album. Esoteric sounds less dorky than before and more comfortable rapping, instead of sounding like he's trying too hard and ending up sounding borderline awkward, like he has to me in the past. This album will please both of their fanbases and is not trying to reach outside of that at all, which is fine. Check out the videos for "Air Em Out" and "Hazmat Rap". Also check out "Dead Zone", "Marvel Team Up", and "Poisonous Thoughts" featuring Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire.

Myron & E - "Broadway" 2013

Yet another home run for Stones Throw as they continue to churn out outstanding music from all genres. This is straight classic R&B, like 1960's and 70's style, and these guys do it damn good. No duds on the album, all killer, no filler. Check out the videos for "If I Gave You My Love" and "Do It Do It Disco". Also check out "Cold Game", "Going In Circles", "I Can't Let You Get Away", and a live in studio performance of "Broadway".

City Of Sound - "Creatures" 2012

I recently heard their previous album and was blown away by it. I don't hear much local stuff that's this good. This album is a little more underwhelming than the other one, but it's still very good and worth hearing as well. There is a little more variety in style than the first album, but it makes me want them to get even more adventurous, and some of the songs almost seem like a tease. Some of the songs seem like they've been briefed or shortened, and would have sounded better as long songs, but who am I to say. This is still some great rock n roll.  Listen or download here.

Album Reviews: September 2013 Week 2

Houses - "A Quiet Darkness" 2013

I first discovered this dude as a one man act using keyboards and vocals as an opening act for Baths a couple years ago. That was an appropriate fit, as their styles mesh well together, concert-wise. I purchased the album he had for sale that day, which was 2010's "All Night". This album was not very much like his live show at all. His vocals were more confident sounding and less muted and effected, and the music plays out more like rock music than it does in his live show. This new album takes that way further, and is a very lush sounding indie rock album. There is a certain precision within the production that isn't incredibly apparent when you first start listening, but once you warm up to the music a little, you start noticing a crazy amount of detail. I'm actually curious as to why this new album hasn't gotten much press in the internet hipster world or any airplay on a local station like The Current. This is better than 98% of the stuff they play and somewhat in the same vein. Ahh well, if I knew how any of that stuff worked, i'd be a millionaire and wouldn't care anyways.... I would recommend this album to people who enjoy stuff like Radiohead, Jose Gonzales, Baths, and Peter Gabriel. Check out the videos for "Beginnings" and "The Beauty Surrounds". Also check out "The Tired Moon", "Peasants", and "A Quiet Darkness".

Franz Ferdinand - "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" 2013

I admit that I never really checked this band out before. They seemed kinda media padded from the start, and something about being told to like a band by a bunch of people in the press makes me want to check out a band less than I normally would. I admit that this new album sounds pretty good to my ears, but I don't have any reference point from any of their earlier stuff to compare it to. This could suck compared to their albums before it and I wouldn't know. I'll have to check out their other albums. This is just some good sounding, upbeat, pop rock that is easy to dance to, but all real drums, no programmed stuff. Very lush and full production. Check out the videos for "Love Illumination", "Evil Eye" (this video is so ridiculous and awesome...seriously one of the best videos i've ever seen, but not the the faint of heart) and "Right Action". Also check out "Fresh Strawberries", "Stand On The Horizon", and "Treason! Animals".

Auditive Escape - "Curves" 2013

Some nice, chill trip hop vibes. Some of the drum and bass sounds are more like beat scene stuff but it still has the pacing of typical trip hop stuff. Listen or download here.

BitsBits: Mystery Mix September 2013

http://www.mixcloud.com/ryanbirch54/mystery-mix-september-2013/

Hot Mixes: September 2013 Week 2

Takanome - "Grant Nelson Works" 2013

A nice upbeat mix of this producer's career. Check it out here.

DJ Clone Funk - "Lovers Lane" 2013

Truthfully, I don't remember listening to this. I should have taken down a couple notes. Damn, i'm getting old. Listen to it here.

ShiKung - "At The Black Cat Aug 21 2013"

This is a really well done live set of some various styles of jazz. Check it out.

Adam Kvasnica - "Science Fiction Jazz" 2013

This dude never ceases to amaze me with his endless jazz mixes from every sub-genre. Get astro.

Takanome - "Tuesday Night Fever" 2013

I like the way this guy puts together his mixes. Mostly rooted in funky 80's stuff, very dancey, with a slight level of cheese...just the right amount. Listen here.

Adam Kvasnica - "Nu Jazz Delight" 2013

From the DJ himself: "Today someone asked me what it's nu jazz. So, this is Nu Jazz!"....And there you have it....

Adult. - "Fact Mix 393" 2013

This is more of a mix of stuff that they are probably influenced by more than anything, seeing as a lot of this stuff sounds like odd versions of them, stylistically. So if you dig them, you'll probably dig this mix. Listen or download here.

Album Reviews: September 2013 Week 1

Zomby - "With Love" 2013

This album is pretty awesome, and definitely my favorite thing i've heard from him since he was doing glitchy video game sounding stuff like 5 years ago. The first half of this album establishes absolutely no common style at all. It's like he's trying to see how many sub-genres of electronic music he can tackle successfully. I know some people would be annoyed by that, but it makes me like this album that much more. It displays his diversity as a producer. The 2nd half of this album has a more common thread of sound and goes for trap style drum programming over alternately mellow and menacing piano sounds that all kinda swirl around the sound spectrum and are oddly comforting. He has a way of making sparse sounding beats that have many subtleties to tantalize your ear without overwhelming you with sound. It works really well for me. I just enjoy the whole way this album is set up, with mostly 2 minute songs and a lot of them so you never get tired of anything. Check out the video for "With Love", which is the album closer. A weird choice for the single considering how non-representative of the album as a whole it is. The song on the first half of the video is actually a different track from the album called "Overdose" as well. This video is like some weird perfume commercial gone wrong or something. Also check out "Soliloquy", which is a pretty good representation of what a good portion of this album is like. Also check out "White Smoke", "Orion", "Shiva", and "It's Time".

Demon Queen - "Exorcise Tape" 2013

Demon Queen is a collaboration duo between Tobacco and Zackey Force Funk. If you know me, you know i've been highly anticipating this album since they announced it. On the first listen, I admit I was a bit underwhelmed, but that also happened to me with the last Black Moth Super Rainbow album and Tobacco's "Maniac Meat", and I ended up really enjoying those albums a lot. After I bumped this a few times, I quickly realized that this album is as tight as I expected it to be. Zackey's vocals are PERFECT for Tobacco's beats, and inject a new personality into Tobacco's formula, that I think might have been needed at this point in his career. I do hope they continue to collaborate after this album. I really like how there's not necessarily a specific style of vocals throughout the album. Some songs are falsetto sung, some are loosely rapped, some vocals are just talking or shouting. It all comes together well. Check out "Love Hour Zero", which I would consider the crowning achievement of this album, and one of the best songs Tobacco's ever made, which is a bold statement from me. Also check out "El Camino 2", "Swoll Tongue", "Puni Nani", and the song that started it all, "Lamborghini Meltdown".

Nine Inch Nails - "Hesitation Marks" 2013

So here it is, the new Nine Inch Nails album. I'm convinced that most of the other reviews i've read are by people who didn't actually listen to the album, because most of their descriptions of it don't really accurately portray what this album is like. It's like they're looking at the artwork and think "if it looks like Downward Spiral it must sound like it too". This album is definitely the most devoid of guitars out of his catalog, and I know that is one of the reasons why a lot of people I know who are longtime fans are trash talking this album. Another reason might be the simplicity of some of the lyrics. All of that really doesn't matter to me. This is Trent Reznor making a pop album, and he's damn fucking good at it. Out of any of his albums, this one is the most in tune with what is going on currently in the music world at the time of it's release, which some people will look at as a good or bad thing. I think it shows that he is smart, and I think it was time for him to make an album like this. It has me excited about the upcoming tour and how he might make some stripped down and more electronic sounding versions of some of the older songs too. Again, I realize that this probably angers some of the longtime fans, but I applaud the amount of commercial appeal this album has, while still maintaining a level of diversity that keeps someone like me interested. Check out the underwhelming, seizure inducing, David Lynch directed video for "Came Back Haunted". Also check out "All Time Low", "Satellite", and "While I'm Still Here".

Hot Mixes: September 2013 Week 1

Chrome Canyon - "Stones Throw Podcast #78: OST" 2012

This is a superb mix of songs from various soundtracks and probably explains a little of where Chrome Canyon gets his style from too. Check it out here or subscribe to the Stones Throw Podcast on iTunes.

Jamie Groovement - "Mr. E: Daylight//Aug2013"

This mix is great and I will definitely be checking for more from this person. A solid mix of mostly beat scene and hip hop oriented stuff. Listen or download here.

BitsBits: Relic86 Radio August 2013

http://www.mixcloud.com/ryanbirch54/relic86-radio-august-2013/

Album Reviews: August 2013 Week 4

Killah Priest - "The Psychic World Of Walter Reed" 2013

The level of ambition Killah Priest has on this album is insane. 41 tracks, most of which are dealing with his unique perspective on life, religion, and history. I might not agree with some of the stuff he says, but you can't knock someone so dedicated that is at least making some sort of logical sense when philosophizing about life. The production on this project is actually pretty decent throughout, and in my opinion, a step above a lot of the albums he's put out over the last 8 or so years. This album has an extremely long running time, and it can be hard to listen to all in one sitting, but there's plenty of good songs to choose from. Check out these cool animated videos for "The Winged People" and "Ein Sof (Paradise)". Also check out this video for "L Theanine". "Fortune Teller", "How I Write", and "New Reality" are all worth hearing as well.

Anagraphs - "All That You Were" 2013

I love it when you can clearly see/hear someone improving over time and slowly realizing their vision of sound. I had started to wonder if this guy had given it up completely. It's been nearly a year of no new releases, but low and behold, here is the new EP from Anagraphs. Every aspect of this is a step up from previous releases. My one main gripe about his older stuff was the clunkyness and overall sound of the drum programming, but all the programming on this new one is enjoyable. He's taken his atmospheric background noises to a new level too. When you listen on headphones you can hear all these different sounds swirling around your head like waves, and the only sounds that really ever come to the forefront are droney electric guitar noises, which is something new added to the formula, and it really fits well with everything else going on in the songs. 7 tracks and no weak ones at all. Download or listen here.

Anika - "EP" 2013

It's really weird how much i'm attracted to this girl's music, when on the surface it doesn't really seem like much. Yet I crave to listen to these songs repeatedly and discover intricacies within the production and song structure each new listen. I love it when stuff seems simple until you look at it up close and find out there's much more to it. Most of the songs on this EP are covers of old songs, but she breathes new life into these tunes and makes them her own, and that's what a good cover should be. There's going to be the obvious comparisons to Nico and The Velvet Underground by some people, due to her singing style and accent, but I don't believe Nico ever made anything that was this actually great and not pretentious. Really high quality stuff that I would especially recommend for people who enjoy the lo-fi new wave style from the late 70's/early 80's. Check out the video for her cover of The Kinks' "I Go To Sleep". Also check out this odd and funny video for "In The City", that has the same feel as something directed by Tim & Eric or Mr. Oizo or something. (It was actually directed by Joe Broady and Kyle Whittington). Also check out "Love Buzz" and "He Hit Me".

Travis Barker & Yelawolf - "Psycho White EP" 2012

 So yeah, this happened. I just had to listen out of curiosity, and it's definitely nothing special to me, but at the same time i'd recommend it to people who already were interested in hearing a collabo like this. Most of the songs are at least decent in their execution. There's a couple missteps like the fake Sublime sounding "6 Feet Underground" which features Yelawolf and Tim Armstrong sporting some laughable fake patois and the Eminem reminiscent "Director's Cut". But  "Whistle Dixie" is OK. (Video featuring Danny Trejo). Also check out "Funky Shit" and "Push Em".

Current Value - "Crude Chronicles" 2012

This is some really hard driving music that would fall into the dubstep category, but it's more like older dubstep with constant rhythms instead of the buildup to a drop scenario that most dubstep from the last few years has had. This is some nice, blistering headphone music. Check out "Robodub", "Gonna Be Me", and "Crude Chronicles".

Daft Punk - "Random Access Memories" 2013

OK, so I finally let this album sink in, and tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I still just don't see what all the big fuss is about with this album. The hit single, "Get Lucky" featuring Pharrell Williams, sounds like a remix of a leftover N.E.R.D. song. It's not terrible, but it's just typical Pharrell stuff with different keyboards. I look at this album as being neither good or bad, it's just right in this mid-range blah territory, where it works good for background music, but it's really sort of boring when listening to this album is the entire focus of what you're doing. In different ways it reminds me of wanting to listen to other stuff I enjoy much more, such as Air and Black Moth Super Rainbow. Especially Air. Quite a few of these songs come off to me as Air-lite in structure, sound, and feel. It gets a little better to me towards the end of the album, but this is still just only an OK album to me. Check out "Beyond", "Instant Crush" featuring Julian Casablancas, "Giorgio By Moroder", and "Doin It Right" featuring Panda Bear.

Ty Segall - "Ty Rex 2" 2013

This was a Record Store Day release, and it's just him doing 2 T.Rex covers... and it's pretty awesome. Check out "Cat Black" and "The Motivator".

Hot Mixes: August 2013 Week 4

Tellos F. - "Summer Moments" 2013

Looks like it's getting towards the end of the summer and everyone is tryin to get their summer mixes in before it's over. This one is especially interesting. Lots of cinematic stuff in foreign languages I don't understand. Great vibes. Check it out.

Adam Kvasnica - "Tribe Vibes" 2013

This is a great mix of songs that A Tribe Called Quest sampled. Listen to it here.

DJ Niggagod - "Amorous (Re-Edited)" 2013

This is a nice mix that starts out with some older vocal jazz standards and progresses forward in time and goes into some modern r&b. Give it a listen.

Takanome - "After Hours Mix" 2013

A cool mix of mostly 80's pop funk stuff. I dig it. Check it out.

Album Reviews: August 2013 Week 3

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - "Mind Control" 2013

I had found out about this band from their previous album, "Blood Lust", so I kind of knew what to expect, but this album still blew me away. Their sound falls in a pocket somewhere in between garage rock and stoner metal, and they have a unique way of sounding like a band that could be from the past while still sounding fresh and new. I would recommend this band to anyone who listens to stuff like The Sword, but is maybe a little bored with them and what they do, and are looking for something a little more psychedelic. Check out this dope video for "Mind Crawler". Also check out "Devil's Work", "Desert Ceremony", and "Poison Apple".

Mr. Moods - "The Nature Of Sounds" 2013

I'm torn about what I think about Mr. Moods as an artist. He is literally not treading ANY new ground with his music. This is the same style of jazzy "trip-hop" that DJ Cam and DJ Krush were pumping out throughout the 90's. The thing about Mr. Moods is that he's SO DAMN GOOD at making this style of music, and has a seemingly endless amount of songs to choose from as well. He seems to pump out a high quality album almost every month. I was first introduced to him as an artist from an album a couple years ago that was very sloppy and amateur sounding in comparison to this material, so I had kind of dismissed him slightly, as someone who wasn't special, but that was a misjudgement on my part. This is a superb album, and you can download it for free here..

John Zorn - "The Concealed (Esoteric Secrets & Hidden Traditions Of The East)" - 2012

I think with all the experimental releases he puts out, and just the sheer amount of releases he puts out (like an album every 2 weeks it seems like), even following John Zorn can be an almost daunting task. This is the first album i've heard from him in a little while (keep in mind i'm only half assed checking them out) that isn't weirdo experimental stuff that 99% of the population will hate. This album is incredibly lush sounding with some superb instrumentation. Lots of strings being played different ways. This album is never boring or difficult, it's fits in a nice comfortable zone. I guess this is technically a jazz album, but with the absence of brass instruments, it doesn't really seem that way. There's almost a weird gypsy feel to this album, but that's still a terrible way to describe what it sounds like, so you'll just have to check it out for yourself. Here's "Towards Kafiristan", "Passage To Essentuki", and "A Portrait Of Moses Cordovero".

Free The Robots - "EP- Vol. 2" 2012

Every time I check out another release from this guy, it always blows me away. It's really good to see someone out there that's creating the exact type of thing i'm constantly craving. I always remember the times in my life when no new music was exciting me, and it actually made me depressed, and i'm thankful that right now is not one of those times because of artists like Free The Robots. I don't even know what exactly it is about his style that seems to set him apart from a lot of other people in the beat scene to me, but there's definitely something. His sample sources, melodies, techniques, programming...everything, he's just hittin it out of the park. Check out "Live In A Dream", "Moonchild (Plant Edit)", and "Diary (Exile Mix)".

Major Lazer - "Free The Universe" 2013

Major Lazer is a fictional character created to represent the production team-up of Diplo and Switch. The end result is Handsome Boy Modeling School style WTF collaborations between people who normally would never collaborate, except instead of being hip hop and rock based, Major Lazer is mostly reggae and electronic based. Major Lazer is also well known for their outrageous videos and this album already has a whole new crop of them. I think this new album is a lot more solid throughout than the first one, but at times I get the feeling that it could have been a little bit better than it is too. Check out the videos for "Bubble Butt" featuring Bruno Mars, Tyga, 2Chainz, and Mystic, (so ridiculous, the beginning part with the seapunk girls especially cracks me up), "Watch Out For This (Bumaye)" featuring Busy Signal, The Flexician, and FS Green, "Original Don" featuring The Partysquad, (I love the butterfly knife/sword routine in this, haha), "Scare Me" featuring Peaches and Timberlee, (it's like a preview of an action movie starring Terry Crews as Major Lazer and also featuring a bunch of other people including Blake Anderson and Nick Kroll), "Get Free" featuring Amber of The Dirty Projectors, and "Jah No Partial" featuring Flux Pavilion.

Free The Robots - "In Other Worlds EP" 2013

Scroll up a little bit to see what I had to say about him as an artist. This is a new offering from him and is just continuing the streak of quality he has going. Check out "In Other Worlds", "Take It Slow", and "Transmission".

Odd Future - "The OF Tape Vol. 2" 2012

This is a compilation of a bunch of random songs by members of the crew. Not much of this at all is very entertaining or memorable and this album kinda comes off as a leftovers compilation of songs that didn't make the grade for other projects. They also seem to want to use this album to highlight more of their ignorant side, which should be more funny than it actually ends up being. It just becomes sort of tiresome, which is a shame because I think most of these guys are talented, but are just kinda musically masturbating at this point. Check out the video for "Oldie", which is a 10+ minute posse cut featuring the whole crew. Also check out the hilarious and well done video for "Rella".

John Frusciante - ""PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone" 2012

This album took me by surprise a little. It's still got the same style of falsetto vocals from previous albums, and there's some pretty slick guitar work going on, like you'd expect, but the drum programming on this album is pretty awesome and different from his many previous releases. I would say this is easily one of my top 2 or 3 favorite albums by him. Check out the video for the uncharacteristically poppy "Mistakes". Also check out "Intro/Sabam", the video for "Ratuig", which features some awesome slo-mo skateboard shots and an unnecessary rap verse, and the video for "Sum".

DJ Kentaro - "Contrast" 2012

 DJ Kentaro is a former DMC world champion from Japan who is currently releasing music on Ninja Tune. This album seems pretty evenly dull, unfortunately, as he is sticking to doing different electronic music style "standards" instead of showcasing much turntablism, outside of a couple tracks that have good guests like Kid Koala, D-Styles, and DJ Krush. Check out "North South East West" featuring Matrix and Futurebound, "Next Page" featuring C2C, and "Kikkake" featuring DJ Krush.

City Of Sound - "L'Implosion" 2009

This CD was passed to my girlfriend by one of her co-workers, so I really had no idea what to expect, but this is some high quality stuff. It's really unfortunate how much they try to sound like The Mars Volta, but at the same time it's probably what makes it so instantly likeable for me. I'm a pretty big fan of The Mars Volta, so hearing something very similar is going to still catch my ears. Down to the song titles and production techniques and song structures, they really do seem to be trying to emulate a combination of The Mars Volta and At The Drive In, but the thing is that they're really fucking good at it. I actually think I enjoy this album more than I enjoyed the last Mars Volta album in all honesty. These are some talented dudes laying down some good songs, and I just found a newer album by them from last year on their bandcamp page, so i'll be checking that out soon for sure. Download or listen to this album here.

Brotha Lynch Hung - "Mannibalector" 2013

This is the 3rd part of his Coathanga Strangla trilogy, and honestly as each album has come out of his from these, they seem more and more forced. I'm not saying a lot of these songs don't sound good on the surface, but it just feels like he's going through the motions of making albums, and he's still entertaining enough to carry an album and Strange Music's production people have enough great beats to go around to last forever, it seems. Most of the songs come off like they might be some good shit to play at a Halloween party, but I don't know so much about regular everyday listening. Still worth a listen if you're an old fan. Check out these brutal and well done videos for "Krocadil" and "Meat Cleaver". Also check out "Disappeared" and "Mask & Knife" featuring G-Macc and Bleezo.