Album Reviews: December 2014 Week 3

DJ Earl - "Afrika Tek EP" - 2014

This has been a busy year for Chicago's DJ Earl, and this is one of several releases he put out. I will admit that this particular one isn't my favorite of his. 3 of these 4 tracks seem kind of average compared to his strongest material, but it's not weak at all either. The highlight of this EP for me is the track "Modulator". It's one of those songs that is straddling a few different sub-genres to create a new unique sound, and i'd like to hear more tracks in this style. You can listen to a short preview mix of these songs here. You can purchase this album here.

Flying Lotus - "You're Dead" - 2014

The trajectory of Flying Lotus' popularity within the 'normal accepted mainstream music world' is an odd one to me. 6 years ago, when he was making much more accessible sounding electronic music, he was more of an underground phenomenon that was a hard sell for people who listen to 'normal' music. Now that he's basically transformed into a progressive jazz artist with this album, his album has ended up on a lot of mainstream end of the year best-of lists. But the same people who write these lists and are showing this new found interest in him, are to me, the same type of people who say stuff like "ewwww" and "gross" when people play jazz in front of them. It's just funny/weird. I can't picture any of those people actually bumping this album, but I could picture them getting down to some of his older material now that legions of copycats have made his style seem not so leftfield anymore. It's just very interesting to me that his weirdest album is the one with the most high profile collaborations (Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Herbie Hancock), and is getting the most shine. As far as my opinion on this album goes, I hate to say it, but this falls in the category of albums that I really want to like more than I actually like it, in terms of how often I actually am in the mood to listen to music like this. What him and Thundercat (it seems like he's on almost every song) have done here is quite admirable from a technical standpoint. They made an extremely psychedelic, progressive jazz album, with a couple rap and electronic songs thrown in to make it slightly more palatable for the masses, but even those songs are not what the average music listener would be looking for from those genres, which is a good thing. I just don't find myself geekin to listen to this one, like I did with all of his previous releases, but I will admit that the album before this one took a good 3 months to really bore it's way into my brain, and now it's arguably my favorite LP by him, so maybe time will tell with this one also. The concept of this album is so right up my alley, the journey to death and the soundtrack for it. The mixing on this album sounds phenomenal on my headphones. Every noise within the songs sounds so crisp and well placed. The way the songs are sequenced is very loose and fast paced. This album was obviously designed to be listened to all the way through, as a full LP, but i've noticed that if you shuffle the track order, it still all sounds really well sequenced. Something about the way the tracks begin and end makes it all cohesive. This IS easily one of the better albums of the year for sure, i'm just perplexed that THIS is the album that's getting him noticed on a larger scale. Maybe there's more jazz appreciators out there than I give credit for. Or maybe mainstream people are so starved for good new rappers that are marketed to them, that just the thought of an overrated but still decent MC like Kendrick Lamar making an appearance is a big deal to them. Who knows? Check out the videos for "Never Catch Me" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) and "Ready Err Not". I can't find any individual song clips, but you can listen to the full album here. You can purchase this album here.

Antemasque - "Antemasque" - 2014

I had explained this in more detail a few weeks ago when I reviewed the Mars Volta B-Sides album and the Bosnian Rainbows album, but Antemasque is more or less the resurrected version of The Mars Volta under a new name. They parted ways for probably not even a full year, and then reunited under this new name with the same drummer, but with Flea as their bass player this time. Compared to Mars Volta, this album has more 'traditional' songwriting structures and Cedric's singing style is more aligned with how he used to sound in At The Drive In. If this excites you, you should definitely check this album out now. I much prefer Mars Volta over At The Drive In, so this album is a mixed bag for me. It's incredibly well done, especially considering how quickly this must have been written and recorded. These guys are world class musicians all the way, and not many people could put out an album of this caliber that fast. All that being said, this album is not as thrilling to me as most Mars Volta albums are, but I do appreciate the change of pace, as it is proof that they can 'play the game' and make a 'normal' album any time they want to, and were just choosing not to until now. Check out "4AM", "Hangin In The Lurch", "People Forget", "Drown All Your Witches", "Ride Like The Devil's Son", and "Providence". You can purchase this album here.

Primus - "Primus & The Chocolate Factory with The Fungi Ensemble" - 2014

So, Les Claypool and company have decided to take on Willy Wonka for their latest project. The results are both predictable and enjoyable. This album basically sounds exactly like I thought it would in my head, and sometimes there's nothing wrong with that. Les' style is well suited for these songs, and as an added bonus touch, original drummer Tim Alexander is back in the group, and doesn't play an actual drum kit on this entire album. He is credited with "percussion" and articles I read about the recording of this album said that he put together his own rig out of household items and made drum noises that way. It definitely adds to the technical prowess of this album and also childlike nature of the songs themselves. Everyone already knows these songs, so it's not like this is going to blow anyone away, but it's always nice when talented musicians take a simple concept and execute it well. Just like the real Willy Wonka, they have placed 5 "golden tickets" in the form of yellow vinyls accompanied by the certificate of authenticity, which will grant the owners free admission to any Primus show ever, not to mention having one of the more rare pieces of vinyl in history. So far, I believe only 2 of these golden tickets have been found. I ended up with a nice chocolate brown copy when I opened mine up. Here is a playlist where you can listen to the entire album here. You can purchase this album here.

The Flaming Lips - "With A Little Help From My Fwends" - 2014

Review 2 cover albums in a row? Why not?..... This is The Flaming Lips' take on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, and boy is this one a doozy. I had the rare opportunity to see one of these songs performed live at First Avenue a few months ago, and damn did it sound good. It was really one of those "Holy shit!" moments in my concert going life, where I was seeing, hearing, and feeling things i've never encountered before, and they were somehow able to do that through covering a Beatles song i've heard 8 billion times. That takes talent, in my opinion. What they have done with this album is make it into a TRULY psychedelic experience. This isn't some straight edge person's idea of what people want to hear while on psychedelics, this is what you actually want to hear while on psychedelics. What they've done to the sound design and structure of all the songs is also pretty much what psychedelic drugs do to human brains. Almost nothing is predictable, and the most odd things are distorted or brought to the forefront of the mix, but yet everything still seems like it's all in the right place and orchestrated perfectly. They took what I would call the Handsome Boy Modeling School approach to this, and have different weird guests collaborating with them on each song, and none of them sound out of place at all. The first time I listened to this album, it sounded almost too odd and out of place to be something I would listen to regularly, but once my ears had been broken in like a catcher's mitt, this album just sounds luscious and delightful. Not in a million years did I expect to enjoy this as much as I do. Check out the video for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" (featuring Miley Cyrus & Moby). You can listen to the full album here. You can purchase this album here.

BitsBits: Xmas Mix 2014 (Family Friendly)

http://www.mixcloud.com/ryanbirch54/xmas-2014-family-friendly/

BitsBits: XMAS 2014 (Anything Goes)

http://www.mixcloud.com/ryanbirch54/xmas-2014-anything-goes/

BitsBits: Mystery Mix December 2014

http://www.mixcloud.com/ryanbirch54/mystery-mix-december-2014/

this month's Mystery Mix features: The Beach Boys, The Entrance Band, The Hollies, The Doors, The Prodigy, Goddamn Electric Bill, Flying Lotus, Kaimbr & Kev Brown, Geto Boys, Three 6 Mafia, Remy Ma, Lali Puna, Alias, Pop Levi, Pink Enemy, Gal Costa, The Heliocentrics & Melvin Van Peebles, Ssaliva, The Flaming Lips, Ricky Nelson, and John Holt...

Album Reviews: December 2014 Week 2

Krizz Kaliko - "Son Of Sam" - 2013

Krizz Kaliko's 5th album is a strong one. I would say this is my favorite album of his since the first 2, ("Vitiligo" and "Genius"), and arguably this album is his most complete and 'professional' yet. There isn't very many people with more vocal talent than him in the music industry, and he proves it all over this album. From top notch rap songs with speedy flows and complex lyrics, to straight R&B/pop songs, where he's showing a lot of modern R&B and pop singers how boring they sound compared to someone like him who refuses to follow other people's blueprints when it comes to songwriting. The track sequencing of this album is perfect. The intro is hyped and sets a party type pace immediately, and then goes into some anthem type songs to get people hooked. After the album is about at the halfway point, it goes into a slick R&B mode to simmer things down a little bit, and then there's a few serious rap songs at the end, to show that he's not all party 100% of the time and has a brain in his head. Very few people in music history are capable of the level of versatility he has as an artist. I know I always say stuff like this, but it's a shame that not many people outside of the core Strange Music fanbase know about his genius. He deserves to be one of the biggest stars in music, period. Check out the videos for "Scars" (featuring Tech N9ne), "Schizophrenia", "W.A.N.S. (We All Need Sex)", "Why Me", "Girls Like That" (featuring Bizzy), "Kill For Your Lovin" (featuring Crystal Watson), "Thank God", and "Intro". Also check out "Titties" (featuring Tech N9ne) and "Do You Drink". You can purchase this album here.

Joker - "Sega Joker Drive" - 2013

Joker is a UK artist mainly known for his contributions to the grime and dubstep genres. This is a little EP he did of beats made out of all sounds from Sonic The Hedgehog. All 16-bit sounds, down to the drums, he kept it very true to the sound of the system. This doesn't blow me away, but it definitely is admirable in the fact that you can tell what songs are being sampled, but he arranges them in completely different ways. It also reminds me how many hours I must have logged, playing this game, seeing as how i'm so familiar with the sounds without even knowing it. You can listen to this over at his soundcloud page here.

Crowbar - "Symmetry In Black" - 2014

Crowbar is a sludge metal band hailing from New Orleans that has been around for quite some time. Admittedly, this is my first time checking them out, so I have no basis of comparison to their older albums, but this album definitely rocks. They first got on my radar after seeing their lead man, Kirk Windstein, perform as part of Down. His guitar playing impressed me so much, that I had to see what was up with him, and found out that Crowbar was his main band, where he performs both lead guitar and vocals. I really enjoy this mashing of metal styles they present here. There's plenty of variation of styles from song to song, but also even within certain songs as well. These guys have the ability to go really hard when they want to, but then scale it back and get very melodic at times as well. They keep it both interesting and engaging, and have a depth rarely seen in any genre. Check out the videos for "Walk With Knowledge Wisely" and "Symmetry In White". Also check out "Ageless Decay", "The Taste Of Dying", "A Wealth Of Empathy", and "The Foreboding". You can purchase the album here.

Aliceffekt - "Ten Axitecture" - 2014

Aliceffekt is a Canadian born, Japan based electronic artist that I became acquainted with through his "Dei Dan" album from last year. Something about the sound design and overall feel of that album made it stand out to me when I heard clips of it randomly. This is a 4 song EP that plays out like it's 4 parts of one long piece. The sound is very clear and sparse yet full of sounds. Some of this reminds me slightly of certain material by Culprate or Savant, and also more mellow Aphex Twin stuff. I can see this guy putting out some great albums in the future. You can download or listen to this here.

MC Chris - "Foreverrr" - 2014

MC Chris hit us earlier this year with a double album, clocking in at over 90 minutes. It seems like it would have been better suited to have split this into 2 separate albums, but i'm sure he had his reasons for putting this together the way he did. There's enough Ghostbusters themed songs on here to constitute it's own album, but they are placed in the track sequence interspersed with other songs with other specific themes and the ongoing saga that is the interludes on his albums. These interludes are mostly hilarious, (the outro starts out really strong and then goes on too long, but other than that, these are mostly gold) and I think it's a unique and admirable quality that Chris brings to his albums, where he's made the skits like a soap opera that's spiraled out of control, but they continually reference things that happened within the skits on previous albums to give it all continuity. The production on this one comes off to me a little bit more cheap and cartoony than it has in the past, and it brings down a couple songs a little bit. I am very grateful that he released the acapella versions of all these songs for a remix contest, because i've found I enjoy hearing these lyrics over other beats a lot more. This album is a definite must-have for longtime fans of his, but it's definitely not my favorite album by him. Check out the videos for "Wednesday", "Luigi", and "Discord". Also check out "Let Me In", "Where The Ghosts At?", "58.9", and "Help Wanted". You can purchase this album here.

Nocando - "Tits N Explosions" - 2013

This is the first of 2 recent releases by this Hellfyre Club member and Low End Theory host. The other being the more recent, "Jimmy The Burnout", which I haven't checked out yet. I was looking forward to this, but this was an unfortunate letdown for the most part. There's a few cool tracks here, the standout being the title track album closer, but there's some embarrassingly corny stuff like "All Over A Bitch (AOB)", "No Romance", and "Last But Not Least" (is this a Silkk The Shocker bite? haha). All of these songs have decent production but are plagued by played out concepts and/or repetition to the point of annoyance. The rest of the album is OK to decent, and shows that he's definitely an MC with talent, but maybe just needs to come up with a few more ideas for songs that don't involve recycling 'tried and true' song concepts. Hopefully his newer album fares a little better than this one. Check out the video for "Where's The Money?". Also check out "Tits N Explosions", "No Sweat" (featuring Pigeon John & Cel), and "I Guess So". You can purchase or download this album for free here.

Busdriver - "Perfect Hair" - 2014

This is now Busdriver's 8th (!) album, and the freight train of lyricism that he is shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. On this effort he seems to sound almost more immediate to me, all while still folding his style into a new piece of complex origami, that sounds to me as a long time fan, both quite familiar and new and progressive all at once. I have no idea how a complete foreigner to his style would take this album, but his vocabulary as an MC is probably only matched by Aesop Rock, who actually appears on a track as a guest here, along with Danny Brown over a Jeremiah Jae beat. If that doesn't sound tantalizing, I don't know what does. This album seems more tightly knit, concise, and trimmed of fat, compared to most of his previous albums, especially the couple more recent ones. I can't think of any other rap albums in recent times that blew me away like this has. There seems to be a slight push for more acceptance from outside of his core fanbase within the sound of this album, but he's doing it in a way that doesn't take away from his progressive nature, and this album still comes off as actually being progressive, instead of being an artist that was once progressive finding a comfort zone within the style they created and treading water within that. (recent examples: Aphex Twin and El-P). He finds a unique balance here, and it's one of the more strong albums of his career. Not quite up there with "Road Kill Overcoat" (what I consider his best LP), but reaching for those heights and almost getting there again. It's not for everyone, but if your frequency can get in tune with this, you're in for a treat. Check out the videos for "Ego Death" (featuring Aesop Rock & Danny Brown), "Eat Rich" (this video is super fucking ridiculous and awesome...haha), "Colonize The Moon" (featuring Pegasus Warning), and "Motion Lines". Also check out "Bliss Point", "Can't You Tell I'm A Sociopath" (featuring VerBS), and "Upsweep". You can purchase the album here.

BitsBits: Blogmix December 2014

http://www.mixcloud.com/ryanbirch54/blogmix-december-2014/

This is my monthly audio summary of this blog, in the form of the best songs i've come across during the last month. featuring songs by: Traxman, Tech N9ne, Murs, DJ Quik, David Blake II, Mr. Scruff, Mr. Oizo, Goodie Mob, Janelle Monae, The Acacia Strain, Freeman, Nattymari, Aphex Twin, ADULT., John Foxx & The Maths, The Melvins, Bosnian Rainbows, Thom Yorke, Boys Noize, Todd Terje, Karl Hector & The Malcouns, Why?, Jeremiah Jae, Kev Brown, Com Truise, Mochipet, The Mars Volta, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Beck...

Album Reviews: December 2014 Week 1

Oh No & Percee P - "Oh No vs. Percee P" - 2013

This was created as an alternative version to Percee P's Stones Throw album, "Perseverance", even though Madlib already has his own alternate version of this album, so this makes it 3 versions of these songs out there. This was a promo only release from years ago, that was made available to me through my subscription service with Now Again. Oh No made these beats using all samples from the Now Again Records catalogue, and as usual it sounds great. Lots of lively sounding drum chops. I would say that these beats are so strong sounding they almost overpower the acapellas that are put over them, but not in a bad way. I actually really enjoy the way this album was mixed. Crisp and loud. Check out "Know My Voice", "The Page That Built Me" (featuring Aesop Rock), "A Message", "Verbal Heat Rapid Fire", "Praise", and "No Time" (featuring Chali 2na).

Alias - "Pitch Black Prism" - 2014

Alias is a beatmaker from Portland, Maine, and one of the integral members of Anticon Records. I've enjoyed following his career throughout the years. I always seemed to enjoy the instrumental version of his first album more than the regular version, with his awkward rapping, so him ditching the vocal aspect of his career was undoubtedly a smart move when he made it. Now he's on his 5th proper solo album with this release, and it looks like he's trying to shake up his formula a little bit and try some new things. I'm all for people expanding their horizons and evolving, but this doesn't always translate to great albums. Some good examples of this not working out good for people would be RJD2 with his 3rd album and Sufjan Stevens with his last solo album. This album is nowhere near the extreme departure from his typical style as these albums were for those artists, but I will admit that i'm not feeling this one as much as his last couple. There's something too even about the way everything was mixed, and it makes everything come off drab and uninteresting. No sounds are popping out at you, and maybe that was intentional, but it makes it so these beats seem less engaging and more like background music. Everything is still technically sound, and there's no actual weak music on this album at all, but I probably won't find myself listening to this very often, unfortunately. Check out "Crimson Across It" (featuring Dose One), the only song from this album up on youtube currently, and not much at all indicative of what the rest of the LP sounds like. You can purchase this album here.

Supportive Parents - "Demo 2014" - 2014

This is a demo for a friend's band. This is some melodic hadcore pop punk, for those interested in that type of sound. It sounds good for the type of music it is, but admittedly this type of stuff isn't my bag at all. I wanted to put this up here so that people that are interested might check it out. You can download or listen to the EP here.

Ras G - "Raw Fruit Vol. 2" - 2014

Ras G is a spaced out LA beatmaker, who's been heavy on the output lately, and all of his releases have been super tight. He's breezing through this Raw Fruit series, (there's already an even newer Vol. 3), and it doesn't seem like he's stopping anytime soon. I enjoy the attention deficit nature of the short run times of the tracks and the constant switchups to new ideas. Just some nice raw beats to absorb. Check out "Dynamite Smoke", "Spooky Shit", "Altered States", "Veggie Thugs Anthem", "Pullout!!!", and "GMO Hoes". You can purchase this album here.

Ta-ku - "Re-Twerk Vol. II" - 2013

Ta-ku is a beatmaker from Perth, Australia, who initially gained attention from his "50 Days Of Dilla" series. Nowadays he's pretty much doing his own thing, serving up beats of all different styles, and doing them all well. It's easy to understand why his star has risen in the recent couple years. The Re-Twerk series is where he does his own weird takes on well known songs. Some are closer to conventional remixes and others are vastly different from the originals, becoming their own song entirely. I think I enjoyed the first installment of this series a little better, but this one has some cool and interesting stuff as well. You can download or listen to this here.

Paul White - "Shaker Notes" - 2014

Paul White is a beatmaker/producer from London. I had become familiar with him through his "Paul White & The Purple Brain" album, and have picked up every release he's put out since then. I enjoy his whimsical yet precise, loose yet focused, production. He seems to have a different style to suit any collaborator or mood. What I expected this album to be like was another great album full of beats that resemble hip hop. What this album actually is, is a fuckin masterpiece that is largely undefineable. If I was forced to throw this album in a section at a record store, I would probably put it in the jazz section, but this is not your grandfather's stuffy jazz. The mixing on this album sounds phenomenal on headphones. These songs almost seem to be alive and breathing. A lot of the songs actually have vocals that are performed by Paul himself, but it's usually the same phrases repeated over and over again in a non-annoying and almost soothing way, where it's almost easing it's way into the background of the songs and daring you to follow it down the rabbit hole. This is jazz being assembled with an eclectic electronic and hip hop sensibility. This album could have easily been a total mess with all the sounds that are packed into these songs beating the listener over the head and bombarding them, but instead, everything has it's right place, and all sounds form a unified attack that sounds like perfect harmony to me. This is easily his best album so far, and puts him in a different league now, as a producer and performer. Check out the videos for "Where You Gonna Go?" and "Running On A Rainy Day". Also check out "All We Know", "Numbers Of Change", "Honey Cats", and "Fighting To Dance". You can purchase this album here.

DJ FootMerc presents: "Channel Flippin" - 2014

This is a compilation of juke/footwork versions and interpretations of TV theme songs from throughout history. I'm surprised (or maybe I shouldn't be) at how much I enjoy a lot of these. There's some truly entertaining moments that happen here. Some of the standouts would be Alfred English's "Ducktales", DJ FLP's "Cheers", and Nangdo's "Twin Peaks". This album is available as a free download here.

Album Reviews: November 2014 Week 4

Queens Of The Stone Age - "...Like Clockwork" - 2013

I put off really listening to this album for a long while after it was released. The songs I did hear through other people and the ones that popped up on shuffle didn't do anything to make me think this would be great, but i've been such a big fan of this group in the past, I feel like I owe it to myself to give this album a real shot. I honestly don't know where my reluctance to listen to this even came from. I like their last album and I like Them Crooked Vultures. This album is still definitely a great rock album, even if it is much softer in nature than their previous releases. I actually think Josh Homme's voice sounds pretty decent on these more ballady songs. This is a great album to just kick back and relax to. You won't get bored and you won't get irritated, but it won't blow your mind either. Sometimes that's the exact mood i'm in and this is about as solid as a rock album could be, in that respect. Check out the videos for "Smooth Sailing", "I Appear Missing", "Kalopsia" (the video is only for half of the song for some reason), "Keep Your Eyes Peeled", "If I Had A Tail", and "My God Is The Sun". Also check out "...Like Clockwork" and "Fair Weather Friends". You can purchase the album here.

The Acacia Strain - "Coma Witch" - 2014

I was pleasantly surprised by the new Acacia Strain album, their 7th to date. Their style is labelled as deathcore/metalcore. I just look at it as some hard ass shit to get pumped up to. Some aspects of this album remind me of Hatebreed, but this band has a lot more versatility and is less one-dimensional about it. I definitely like this better than their previous LP from 2012, and time will tell, but right now i'm thinking this might be their best album so far. Just some really hard hitting metal, very tightly produced. Brutal, yet catchy. It's interesting that they attempted some sort of epic album closer than clocks in at 27+ minutes. I thought for sure there must be a hidden track when I first saw the song lengths, but no, there's music on the whole track. It's just kind of unnecessary, but not entirely awful either. It's about the only aspect of this album that isn't damn near flawless. Check out the videos for "Cauterizer" and "Nailgun". Also check out "Send Help", "Delusionalisphere", "Holy Walls Of The Vatican", and "Graveyard Shift". You can purchase this album here.

DJ Quik - "The Midnight Life" - 2014

On this new album, (his 9th solo album, damn!), DJ Quik is pretty much staying on par with all of his other post- "Balance & Options" albums, by being just tight enough to make it a cool album, but it seems like a lot of the magic from his first 5 albums is still missing. This is still light years ahead of the average rap release in 2014, but Quik set such a high bar of quality for himself previously, that it's basically impossible for him to keep up that level of dopeness. It happens to a lot of artists who release classic albums early in their career. His production is sounding smooth and crisp as ever, and he really hasn't changed on the mic either. An interesting aspect of this album, is that he has his son, named David Blake II, accompanying him on vocals on many songs. He's not bad on the mic either. It's cool to get the multi-generational aspects they got going on here. It adds a new element to Quik's formula. I also like how there's a couple actual R&B tracks on here, where Quik takes a backseat and just plays the producer role, and let's a guest have a shot over one of his beats. Of course, there's also another installment of the jazz-influenced, Quik's Groove series as well, making this a fairly versatile LP for how straightforward it actually is.  This is a must-have for long-time fans, but it's not going to blow you away either. Check out the videos for "Pet Sematary" and "Life Jacket" (featuring Suga Free & Dom Kennedy). (unfortunately, one of the cornier tracks on the album). Also check out "That Getter" (featuring David Blake II), "Shine" (featuring David Blake II), "Why Did You Have To Lie" (featuring Joi), and "Broken Down" (featuring Suga Free & Tweed Cadillac). It looks like his preferred method of purchase is iTunes.

Beck - "Morning Phase" - 2014

I will keep this review short and sweet. This album is for people who really enjoyed the "Sea Changes" album. For people like me, who consider that album, while technically sound, somewhat boring, this is another release in that same vein. It makes for nice, mellow background music, but it's never going to actually get me psyched about it. Check out the video for "Heart Is A Drum". Also check out "Waking Light", "Wave", "Blackbird Chain", "Don't Let It Go", and "Country Down". You can purchase this album here.

Mr. Oizo - "The Church" - 2014

As anyone that follows this blog, or has hung out with me within the last 5 years can attest, I listen to Mr. Oizo A LOT. I'd say he's my favorite artist from within that timeframe. This marks his first album released on Flying Lotus' BrainFeeder Records, and almost too predictably, I think this one is amazing too. Easy contender for album of the year for me. He brings just enough new ingredients to his familiar equation each time around to keep my ears piqued and my feet dancing. It doesn't get much better than this for me. Check out this mildly disturbing video for "Ham", starring John C. Reilly. Also check out "Bear Biscuit", "Memorex", "Torero", "Mass Doom", and "Machyne". You can purchase this album here.

(the aGitator) - "Music For Sensitive Teeth" - 2014

Dafydd McKaharay (main artist name: Nattymari, although he has about as many aliases as Madlib) is somewhat of an underground legend within certain circles, and i'm grateful to have discovered him when I did. His vast knowledge of underground music history (music history in general, but especially the avant-garde and truly progressive, groundbreaking stuff) is inspiring. It's always nice to know that no matter how deep I get, there's always someone out there that goes WAY deeper. Here is an article that goes in depth about his background and philosophies, and obviously talks about his own musical output as well. Being that I have sensitive teeth right now, I figured now was as good a time as any to check this particular release out, and I can attest, the vibrations from some of these songs are felt deeply in the sensitive teeth, like an audio drill. Very woozy, droney, and distorted, I really enjoy the gloomy yet still chaotic vibes on this one. It makes me feel like everything is melting. Checking out one of his releases will send you down a rabbit hole of sounds, if you are at all attracted to the more weird and uncharted territories of the music world. You can download and listen to this album here.

Nattymari vs. Curt Crackrach - "Ladies Love Roses" - 2013

This time around he's combining 2 of his aliases for one EP release. I would say this is a little more "normal" than i'm used to hearing from him, but that's a relative term. These are some cool, low-budget sounding beats that seem to sound good no matter what mood i'm in. There's lots of little weird intricacies in the background that you only notice sometimes, which makes for an adventurous listen. You can download or listen to this here.

Aphex Twin - "Syro" - 2014

So, the new Aphex Twin album is finally here, and I really really hate to say it, but i'm a bit disappointed. This album plays out similar to how a greatest hits album would for him. Like, almost literally. There's a few tracks on here that are strikingly similar to previous ones he's already released. Like he's just going through the motions, like "here you go world, this is what you fucking want, a new fucking album". Having said all that, it's still Aphex Twin, which means it's still good. It's just not progressive like all of his previous stuff was. This is his treading water, show me the money album, and that being said, it's pretty amazing that this album is good at all, considering most people's albums of this nature are horrible horseshit that you listen to once and never revisit again. I will definitely come back to these songs again and again, they just don't thrill me in the same way a lot of his previous songs did. I was saying a similar thing to someone recently about El-P and Run The Jewels, and how, I still enjoy that stuff a lot, but El-P's newer music doesn't THRILL me like his older stuff did. He's found a pleasant comfort zone and is unwilling to leave it, and that's exactly where i'd place Aphex Twin as well. You can purchase the album here. There's too many bunk links for his songs out there, that aren't the actual songs, so i'll leave you to your own devices for listening to this one.

Album Reviews: November 2014 Week 3

Freeman - "Freeman" - 2014

OK, so I finally got over Ween breaking up, sucked it up and finally gave this album some long overdue listening. The reason I waited a bit after it came out was honestly that I was annoyed at the whole sobriety angle and how much he was latching onto that as the theme for this solo project/new band. All the quotes about him being a "free man" now and what not. I'm all for people getting their shit together in order to better their own lives, but I really don't want to hear about it, and I especially don't want it to be the basis of a musical project i'm planning to listen to. I also was leary of seeing one of my heroes as an aging rock star. The type of band your parents listened to when you were young, but then they got sober and their music started to suck really bad and they fizzled away into just becoming a concert act for old people trying to relive the glory days.  Thankfully, all that stuff was mostly marketing and media, and this album is still something I enjoy listening to. I'm honestly surprised at how much I enjoy this album, given that I was fully expecting to not really be into it. It's still the same dude i've been a huge fan of all these years, making good new songs. I dig this album a LOT more than his previous solo outing, "Marvelous Clouds", which was just too laid back and uninteresting sounding for my taste. This album plays out more similar to an album such as "White Pepper", if I was forced to compare it to his previous works. Laid back, but still very high quality songs. It's funny to me that he seems to still shine as a songwriter on here, and the stronger songs to me are actually the more serious ones. The couple songs where he tries to capture some of Ween's sillyness are the ones that fall flat to me, which was very unexpected. (although maybe not really, given that I think "La Cucaracha" is easily their weakest album...). If you were like me and was holding out on this album for a while but still have a soft spot for Ween, you should definitely take the plunge and give it a shot. Check out "(For A While) I Couldn't Play My Guitar Like A Man", "Delicate Green", "Covert Discretion", "More Than The World", "Gimme One More", and "The English & Western Stallion". You can purchase this album here.

Goodie Mob - "Age Against The Machine" - 2013

So, I don't know if he started to feel like he had a big head and wanted to "keep it real", but this album marks Cee-Lo Green's return to the group after not appearing on a Goodie Mob album since 1999. The group had actually dissolved after 2004's "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" was a total flop, and Big Gipp also left the group, which left them as a duo of T-Mo and Khujo, who then released material under the group name "The Lumberjacks" instead of trying to sadly carry on the Goodie Mob name, much like groups like The Pharcyde did when multiple key members left. This album is on point with the progressive nature of their 90's albums, and there definitely isn't any other album like this out there on the market today. This can be both a good or a bad thing, depending on what song you're talking about on here. There are some stellar songs like "Kolors", which reminds me of some of the best moments of their "Still Standing" album, but then there's AWFUL missteps, like "Amy" (featuring V.) that make you scratch your head, like what the fuck were they thinking? It's a mixed bag, but much more good than bad, and it's good to hear Cee-Lo rapping again, and he hasn't lost it either. It's refreshing when older groups make comeback albums like this and are actually somewhat new sounding, and not trying to fit in with what's currently hot, but also not trying for some pathetic retro sound, trying to duplicate their classic material unsuccessfully. Just making good new music. Check out the videos for "Special Education" (featuring Janelle Monae) and "I'm Set". (this video is insane). Also check out "Eye Know (She Came Home)" and "Ghost Of Gloria Goodchild". You can purchase the album at amazon or iTunes. I can't find a good other route.

Why? - "Golden Tickets" - 2013

This EP is a collection of songs that Yoni and Josiah Wolf wrote about random fans of theirs. They would pick a different name from people who purchased music from them, and research them on Facebook, or whatever other social media, and make a biographical song about them. The results are pretty decent and more or less what I would expect from them. Check out "Banana Mae", "Murmurer", "Hunter Van Brocklin", "Dropjaw", and "Peta Godfrey". You can purchase the album here.

Todd Terje - "It's Album Time" - 2014

Todd Terje is a DJ and producer from Norway that I wasn't overly familiar with, outside of a couple remixes I might've heard in the past, but a couple of the tracks from this album caught my ear, so I gave it a go. He has extremely crisp production that still manages to have a very analogue sound. He's kind of doing a similar thing to what Daft Punk was doing with their last album in a way, except instead of this album sounding mostly boring, flat, and uninspired; it sounds exhilarating, tantalizing,  and almost fills me with a sense of wonder. This guy seems like he knows how to have fun, but nothing is done sloppily. Everything is very precise. Many of these songs seem very timeless, like it would be hard to pinpoint what year they were released if I didn't already know this was a new album. There isn't necessarily a particular common thread with these songs, but they do seem to belong together, and it doesn't come off as sounding like a complete mixed bag, like it should. This is a very unique quality to have and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for the future, because it should be interesting. Check out the videos for  "Inspector Norse", "Delorean Dynamite", and "Leisure Suit Preben". Also check out "Oh Joy", "Svensk Sas", and "Preben Goes To Acapulco". This album can be purchased through iTunes, as preferred by his official website.

Traxman - "Teklife Vol. 3: The Architek" - 2013

What can I say about Traxman that I haven't said already? The dude is a damn living legend and this album only further cements that fact. With the flurry of releases he's put out since this one came out really late last year, it's looks like he's not stopping hitting us with all this heat any time soon. Check out "Buddha Muzik", "Manic", "This Shit Go Hard", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "Blow Your Whistle", and "Off Them Bars (We Leanin Remix)". You can purchase this album here.

Album Reviews: November 2014 Week 2

The Mars Volta - "B-Sides" 2013

So, in 2012, the band announced they were on a hiatus, and left it at that. Then in early 2013, the singer, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, made an announcement that the band had in fact broken up and him and other founding member/lead guitarist, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez weren't even speaking to each other. Omar was already in full swing of touring the world with his new band, Bosnian Rainbows, and Cedric was deep into working on an album with a new group (or solo album, depending on how you look at it) called Zavalaz, that still hasn't produced an album yet. It seemed like the end of them collaborating for sure, but they did end up making amends and forming a new group together,  releasing an album recently within a new band called Antemasque, which is basically Mars Volta with Flea as the bass player. Now, back to this review- this mysterious B-Sides album appeared on all the downloading sites within a week or so of Cedric's announcement that the band was done officially. Nobody has confirmed the origin of these songs, and they all have non-sensical, barcode-like, Aphex Twin style titles, but it's generally believed that these are unused demos from as far back as 2005. The songs sound really, really good too. There's more instrumental tracks than there is ones with vocals, but it all sounds pretty good for just being demo material, just further cementing how talented these musicians are. Somebody uploaded it on youtube here, and it looks like they attempted to figure out actual song titles and places of origin for the tracks, which is cool. If you're a fan and you've got 2 hours to spare, I highly recommend checking this out.

Bosnian Rainbows - "Bosnian Rainbows" - 2013

Leading right in from the previous review, here is Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's new group, Bosnian Rainbows, and what's interesting is that he seems to take a huge back seat within this band, compared to Mars Volta. The real star here is singer Teresa Suarez (stage name: Teri Gender Bender), who comes from her own band, Le Butcherettes. A band i'm CLEARLY going to have to immerse myself into now, because this Bosnian Rainbows album is one of the better albums i've heard in the past couple years. I'll just throw this statement out there right now... If you were ever a fan of Siouxsie & The Banshees, and you miss having that type of sound and aesthetic in your life as new music, then this is the band you need to check out now. All 11 tracks on this album are great, and repeated listenings only seems to make this more enjoyable. Looks like we have a modern classic on our hands. It's interesting that what I would consider the 2 strongest tracks on here weren't put out as singles at all, but have (in my mind) that exact type of appeal to be hits. Hopefully this isn't a one-shot deal, and we'll get a 2nd LP from this band someday. Checkout the video for "Turtle Neck". Also check out "Torn Maps", "Morning Sickness", "Worthless" (they should put this song out as a new single, but i'm sure they're done promoting it at this point), "I Cry For You", and "Mother, Father, Set Us Free". You can purchase the album here.

Tech N9ne - "Collabos: Strangeulation" 2014

Tech N9ne seems to have a certain cycle that he goes through with his prolific releases. He'll do a regular album, then maybe an EP, and then one of these "Collabos" albums, where he does a good job of showcasing the other artists on his label, while still giving people at least one verse from him every song, in case they don't like the other people on Strange Music. This is probably my least favorite of the Collabos albums so far. The verses are all tight, and the beats are pretty cool, but I really don't enjoy the overt poppiness of a lot of the choruses and the occasional nu-metal influenced songs with guitars. It also doesn't really seem to go along with the direction a lot of the newer artists on the label are taking, like Mayday and Ces Cru. Both of those groups have been putting out better material than this album has, and their appearances on here only give a slight indicator of what they can actually do on their own. This release also marks the beginning of Murs from Living Legends being on Strange Music, which is both awesome and weird. It's cool Tech is signing veterans to the game as well as good up and comers. It might seem like i'm being harsh on this album, but it's only because i'm a huge fan. There's some really great material on this that's worth hearing. Check out the videos for "Strangeulation Cypher"  (featuring Godemis, Stevie Stone, Murs, Wrekonize, Bernz, Kutt Calhoun, Ubiquitous, Prozak, and Krizz Kaliko) (this song is broken up into 4 parts and dispersed throughout the album), "Over It" (featuring Ryan Bradley), "Hard (A Monster Made It)" (featuring Murs), and "Fear" (featuring Mackenzie O'Guin). You Can purchase this album here.

Jeremiah Jae - "Dirty Collections Vol. 1" 2013

Jeremiah Jae is what I would consider a true modern  progressive underground hip hop musician. The beats he does and the way that the lyrics are placed on the beats is more or less unlike anything i've ever heard. Yes, it makes sense that someone like Flying Lotus put him on, and had the ear to say "hey, maybe I should give this guy a chance", but the fact that Flying Lotus uses Jeremiah Jae to make some of his beats for his Captain Murphy side projects speaks volumes. He has a weird way of filtering things, and at times it almost sounds like someone left a TV or a radio in the other room on when you're listening to his beats until it starts to make sense to you. So after a stellar album released on Brainfeeder, ("Raw Money Raps"), he was, just like Flying Lotus, signed to Warp Records and joined their illustrious stable of artists. This is the first of 3 vinyl only EP's that were limited to 500 copies each. There are only 3 songs on here. 2 rap songs and one instrumental. The instrumental is the winner here for sure. I like listening to this beat in the car a lot. Anyone that enjoys underground hip hop, but is always complaining that nothing actually "new" comes out of the scene, should check this dude out. Check out "Fun", the only song that's up on youtube from this. You can purchase this here.

Com Truise - "Wave 1" 2014

Com Truise is an electronic artist/synth wizard, hailing from New York. His songs mostly fall into a retro-synth type category, similar to artists like Kavinsky and Tobacco. The new EP from Com Truise isn't going to blow anyone's mind, or change their mind about him if you did or didn't like him before, but what it does do is give fans a taste of something new to tide them over. The title track is very familiar sounding, to the point where it almost sounds like a remix of one some of his previous songs, but it's also still my favorite track on here as well. There are glimpses of him trying to break out of his shell a little bit more. There's a track on here that almost reminds me of Aphex Twin in a way, and I never thought I would hear anything like that from him. The only misstep here for me is the song with guest vocals. I see what he's trying to do/why he's doing it, but it's just not my cup of tea. Check out the video for "Subsonic". Also check out "Wave 1", "Miserere Mei", "Mind", and "Valis Called (Control)". You can purchase the album here.

Melvins - "Everybody Loves Sausages" 2013

The Melvins put out this album full of covers last year and over that time this album has slowly weaseled it's way into my main rotation. It didn't do much for me at first (much like a lot of The Melvins stuff is for me), but then repeated listens reveal so much more, and once you become familiar with their songs, you can truly appreciate their grimy geniusness. The source of covers on here runs a pretty wide range, from Venom to Queen to The Fugs, to even a Roxy Music cover, featuring an appropriate sounding Jello Biafra on guest vocals. Check out this video of them recording "Attitude". (watching Dale Crover drum on here is pretty awesome)... Also check out this animated video for "Warhead" (featuring Scott Kelly). Also check out "You're My Best Friend" (featuring Caleb Benjamin), "In Every Dreamhome A Heartache" (featuring Jello Biafra), "Art School" (featuring Tom Hazelmyer), and "Female Trouble". You can purchase this album on amazon, I guess, according to the Ipecac Records website.

Album Reviews: November 2014 Week 1

Mr. Scruff - "Friendly Bacteria" 2014

For those unaware of who Mr. Scruff is, he is a phenomenal British DJ and producer who has been active since the mid 90's. I would consider him to be one of the seminal artists of the Ninja Tune roster and integral to their overall sound and aesthetic as a label, historically. This is his first new LP in 6 years. Gone are the sample collage type songs from yesteryear, that I would consider one of his signature sounds, and he seems to be replacing that in his repertoire with a slight beat scene influence, which was a much needed injection into his cannon. It shows he still knows what's up with new music that's cutting edge, and he's good at producing this sound as well, evidenced by the title track. Much like his last full length, "Ninja Tuna", i'm a little less than thrilled with the abundance of songs with guest vocalists. I don't mind the singers, but my personal taste definitely wants to hear these songs instrumental. The production on this album in extremely intricate without sounding jumbled or too full. Everything has it's right place in the sound scape and the songs tend to slowly evolve over their running time and blossom into what they become. All in all, this is a tightly made album that I just have some minor gripes about, that mostly have to do with my personal preferences. I don't enjoy this album as much as "Keep It Unreal" or "Trouser Jazz", but this is probably my favorite album by him outside of those 2.  Check out the video for "Render Me" (featuring Denis Jones). Also check out "Friendly Bacteria", "Where Am I?", "Feel Free", "Catch Sound" (featuring Denis Jones), and "Come Find Me" (featuring Vanessa Freeman). You can purchase the album here.

Thom Yorke - "Tomorrow's Modern Boxes" 2014

So, Thom Yorke snuck out this album, more or less unannounced, and released it through BitTorrent as a bundle, possibly as an experiment in modern music distribution. Being honest about it, I still chose to steal it instead of paying for it, or taking the free version (which is only 3 songs I think). I will buy the vinyl once I can afford it, because it is good enough, and i'm a big enough fan, but i'm too damn broke to pay money for files. Saying this is an 8 song EP is deceiving, because the final 3 songs are really just like one awesome 3 part song. This isn't going to please the ears of people who weren't on board with "King Of Limbs", "Eraser", "In Rainbows", or the Atoms For Peace albums at all, but I will say this is his best effort since "Eraser" to me. When it's over, i'm like "damn, that's it, I want more songs", which is probably what a good EP should be like.

In attempting to provide sound clips for this review, I discovered that there is numerous trolls that put up tons of bogus links to these songs, and when you listen to them, it's some mega cheesy, non-Thom Yorke music. After clicking on about 9 or 10 of these, I gave up. They could have at least put Rick Astley on there.... So, sorry I can't provide any links here. You can purchase the album here.

Kev Brown - "Brazil Dedication" 2013

This is a nice little EP of beats that he made while staying in Brazil for a couple months. Really chill instrumental hip hop, without falling anywhere near ambient territory. I enjoy the way he chops samples. One of my favorite beat makers in recent years. You can listen to and purchase this EP here.