Album Reviews: October 2014 Week 4

Gesaffelstein - "Aleph" - 2013

This album has ended up being one of my most listened to this year, and i'm just now finally getting around to giving it a proper review. Gesaffelstein is a French electronic artist who I had previously heard songs from, but nothing ever really popped out at me as being great. This album however, is extremely high quality, pretty much from start to finish, there's hardly a low point. These songs are very stark and uplifting. Definitely in the same vein as artists like Mr. Oizo, Boys Noize, and Justice, but still definitely his own style apart from those artists. This is the type of album I can see myself listening to way in the future and still enjoying it. I love how defined the sound scape is throughout this album. Everything is precise and just so, with crisp clarity. I appreciate how there's a wide range of styles on here too. From the spoken word vocals on the opening track, to epic bangers, to dance floor sizzlers, to almost ambient beats, this album has a little something for everyone who enjoys good electronic music. Check out this stunning video for "Pursuit", and also the video for "Hate Or Glory". Also check out "Hellifornia", "Obsession", "Trans", and "Values".

The Residents - "ERA B474" - 2012

As you might guess from the title, this is all stuff the recorded before their first album in 1974. Some of this material dates back as far as 1971. As with anything related with The Residents, this isn't for the unadventurous or faint hearted. It is very interesting to hear how their core ideas were already somewhat formed that early on, even though these songs are most likely just some noodling around while intoxicated on various substances, they definitely had some sort of idea as far as what type of weirdness they were going to bring into the world, and that they were going to go full throttle with it and be unrelentingly original and free spirited as song writers. I definitely wouldn't recommend this as someone's first exposure to this interesting band, but this is cool to hear as a fan. Check out "King Kong", "Hallowed Be Thy Ween", "I Hear Ya Got Religion", and "Maggie's Farm".

Album Reviews: October 2014 Week 3

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - "Aufheben" - 2012

Me being an extremely casual fan of this band, and really not knowing much about them, i'm probably not the most qualified to talk about it, but this is a really solid LP and makes me want to check out more stuff I missed by them. I was introduced to this band 2 different ways right around the same time. The first was a co-worker of mine playing their newest album at the time (2004) and me seeing the documentary, "Dig", which chronicles both this band and The Dandy Warhols and their interactions with each other. After seeing how they portray the singer of Brian Jonestown Massacre in that movie, it's really amazing that he's been able to keep a successful career going. He must have cleaned up his act or figured out a way to make his insanity work for him instead of against him. This is the first album i've heard from them since then, and I actually really enjoy it. It's odd how full the sound is on these songs. It feels like the speakers are going to burst with sound, but it never feels like the levels are peaking or clipping, and actually this album works just as good as background music as it does for an engaging headphone listen. A rare treat. I like how there is a dark and murky element to the sound, but the overall feel is a happy feel. There's lots of yin and yang to this equation and it adds up to a great album. I believe they just dropped a new one, so I better get on that. Check out "Seven Kinds Of Wonderful", Blue Order/New Monday", "Panic In Babylon", "I Want To Hold Your Other Hand", "Face Down On The Moon", and "Waking Up To Hand Grenades". You can purchase the album through the band's website.

Secret Chiefs 3 - "Book Of Souls Folio A" - 2013

After having caught these guys in concert a couple weeks ago, and being blown away by that performance, it had dawned on me that I hadn't even really fully checked out their newest release. I skimmed through it and heard some stuff I liked, but I never tried to get to know this album. The Secret Chiefs are an anomaly within the music world. Most of their music sounds like it belongs on a soundtrack, but to my knowledge, they have not done any film work, and just exist within their own realm. The styles of music range to almost anything in the world, but they have categorized certain sounds and given specific band names for specific styles, all of which still come out under the Secret Chiefs umbrella. You'll notice a lot of the song titles have the "band name" listed first, and then the song title. The funny thing about that, is that going by the fake band names, you still might not have any idea what the song is going to sound like before you hear it. These guys are world class musicians and anyone who is a fan of live instrumentation should definitely give these guys a listen. I'd also recommend them to people who listen to bands like Devotchka and Beirut and are looking for more progressive music with a similar sound pallette.  The things that stuck me the most about their live show, was how talented the violin player is, and how much of the sounds actually come from synths. They use some really realistic sounding keyboard noises to make it seem like they have a much bigger band than they do, and it's quite impressive. Check out the video for "UR: Personae: Halloween". Also check out "Traditionalists: La Chanson De Jacky" (featuring Mike Patton!!!), "The Electromagnetic Azoth: Potestas Clavium", "Ishraqiyun: Balance Of The 19", "Forms: Scorched Earth Saturnalia", and "UR: Drive". You can purchase this album through their label's website.

Lazerhawk - "Skull & Shark" - 2013

This was a blind download that worked out extremely well. It falls in that vein of retro 80's synth stuff, whatever you might want to call that. Same pocket of music as Kavinsky, Miami Nights 1984, Justice, Tesla Boy, etc... I obviously really enjoy this style of music, and this album is no different. Some songs are more laid back and other are more menacing. A lot of these songs take a few minutes to build, which seems boring at first, but is a big payoff during repeated listens. Perfect car stereo music, in my opinion. Having no idea who this artist or act is, I looked it up, and apparently, it's one dude from Austin, TX. Sometimes the electric guitars on a couple tracks seems kinda cheesy, but other times, i'll be in the right mood for it, and it seems just right. Kinda like Chromeo without lyrics. Check out these ridiculous awesome, fan-made videos for  "Skull & Shark", "Massacre", "The King Of The Streets", and  "China Town". Also check out "A Promise" and "Dangerous After Dark". You can purchase this album through Bandcamp.

Nobody - "Vivid Green" 2013

On paper, this album looks like it could be a classic, or near-classic. In reality, it's just a decent to cool album, which is fine with me, because it's far from weak. There's a range of styles on the instrumentals, which I always like, and the guest vocalists are all people who are at the top of their game. There's a certain hollowness or sparseness to the sound of this album, which can be a good thing sometimes, as it allows your imagination to fill in the blanks, and make for a different listening experience at different times, but sometimes I wish for these songs to just be a tiny bit more complex. I suppose maybe they might be designed to be dropped in DJ sets, and you can fill in the blanks with other sounds from other songs as well, and that makes sense. In any event, this is a solid album from one of the best DJ's in the world right now, with songs of many styles to offer, whether you like beats, alternative pop, or underground rap. Check out the videos for  "Our Last Dance" (featuring Cedric Bixler-Zavala) and "Beaches" (featuring Nocando and Baths). Also check out "Pentwater", "Sleeping Alone" (featuring Teri Gender Bender), "Rhombus", "Spliff" (featuring Anna Wise), and "Iceplants". You can purchase the album through Bandcamp.

BitsBits: Mystery Mix October 2014

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

this one features material from: Masato Nakamura, Towa Tei, Esham, Mad Skillz, Jethro Tull, Lorn, The Knife, Cutty Ranks, DJ A.Dog, In The Midst Of Lions, Skrillex, Foreign Beggars, Bare Noize, George Jones, Mike Patton, Larry Tee, Dead Trees, Teebs, Weedeater, Donny McCullough, Weird Al Yankovic, David Bowie, and Patti Page...

Album Reviews: October 2014 Week 2

RJD2 - "More Is Than Isn't" 2013

RJD2 is an artist who I really want to like more than I currently do. The whole way his career is set up is pretty much exactly what i'm looking for in music. Instrumental beat creations, some sample based, some live instrument based. Some rap songs. Some pop songs. Even a touch of funk. Why is it that I just don't enjoy his last few releases very much? (I was more into his Insane Warrior side project than I was into the last 2 RJD2 albums) There's a certain stiffness to his sound, and I think that may be part of what hinders my enjoyment. I've become more accustomed to the LA beat scene style of their way beats swing, and RJ doesn't do that. He keeps everything fully on the beat all the time. Very mathematical. I feel like at this point, RJ is just kind of redoing his own blueprint of what an album should be like as this album is VERY similar to his last one "The Colossus". He's added a slightly more jazzy undertone on this one, but all in all, this album plays out pretty much the same as that last one did for me. There's enough cool songs to keep me a satisfied fan, but ultimately the album doesn't provide me with the excitement that I need in order for me to truly cherish it. It's a shame because I really enjoy certain aspects of this album. I noticed that I tend to enjoy these songs more when I hear them singularly within shuffle as opposed to listening to this LP all the way through. Take that for whatever it's worth. Check out the video for "Her Majesty's Socialist Request". (definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album.... good choice to be the video). Also check out "Got There Sugar", "Winter Isn't Coming", "Love & Go" (featuring Aaron Livingston), and "See You Leave" (featuring Khari Mateen + STS).

Benny B. Blonco - "Random Knocks" 2013

Apparently, Benny B. Blonco is someone who was affiliated with the LA beat scene in some faction, who abruptly disappeared from the scene a few years ago, never to return, and nobody knows his whereabouts. This is a collection of his beats that were made in between 2008-2010.  These beats are fucking insanely good. This album is right on par with the best material from people like Samiyam, Dibiase, and Shlohmo.... even Flying Lotus himself. I can't understate how dope this album is. This is available as a free download, and there's also a short explanation of what it is here, on this page.

Document One - "Dubstep Ain't Dead It Just Smells Funny" 2014

This was a little free download I nabbed. 3 songs. Nothing too special, but not bad either. I like the hyper-fast keyboard parts that he does. I wish there was more of that in these songs and less annoying/distracting vocals, but that's just my personal preference. You can download it or listen to it here.

Wax Tailor - "Dusty Rainbow From The Dark" 2012

Wax Tailor is an artist that certain people kept telling me that I needed to hear, based on what they know about my personal taste, and I always found it odd that I had never really come across the name through my own journeys online. Maybe he's the type of artist that they push heavily on Pandora or Spotify. I don't use those sites, so that's my best guess. Upon hearing/seeing some of his stuff on youtube, I immediately enjoyed it, but also noticed how similar his style is to people that I was already a huge fan of, like Blockhead, Daedelus, and Kid Koala. This album has a bunch of great songs to choose from, but the way the interludes string this together to make this an album, doesn't really work for me. It's perfectly executed, and makes you feel like you're listening to a read-along storybook, but, and I hate to say this because I enjoy this guy's production, I find these interludes rather tedious and corny. You can tell he's immensely talented, the way a lot of the samples are woven together. All of the guest vocalists are great sounding too. Jennifer Charles from Lovage and Elysium Fields appearing on here was definitely a nice touch. I'll be interested to see where he takes his career in the future. I hear he's doing work with an orchestra now. This is another one of those albums where I like the individual songs better than I like hearing the whole LP. Good for shuffle. Check out the videos for "Heart Stop" (featuring Jennifer Charles), "Time To Go" (featuring Aloe Blacc), "Only Once (featuring Ali Harter),  "Down In Flames" (featuring Sara Genn), "From The Dark", (wow, this video is crazy good) and "Dusty Rainbow" (featuring Charlotte Savary). Also check out "No" and "Past, Present, & Future (Rock N Roll)".

Album Reviews: October 2014 Week 1

Madlib - "Rock Konducta Vol. 1 & 2" 2014

This is the latest entry in his Beat Konducta series, which finds him exploring the realms of psychedelic rock. This is more or less exactly what you would expect this to sound like, and is predictably great. Madlib has his beat making and sample chopping down to a fine science at this point, and it's always a joy to hear what he's done recently. At 52 tracks long, I won't be tiring of this album anytime soon. Check out "Harmonia Inventions", Licorice (The Beginning), "Future Correlations", "Black Dreams", and "Hosianna IV".

"Keats//Collective Vol. 4" - 2013

I really enjoy these Keats Collective compilations, but it always kind of bugs me out how similar the production style of all the songs are, even though they are by different artists. They are all really honed into a specific pocket of sample based beats that kind of play out like slowed down and flanged up versions of disco songs. These compilations are nice to ride around in a car to during nice weather, with the breeze blowing through. This album and many others are available as a free download from their bandcamp page.

Jel - "Late Pass" - 2013

Jel doesn't come out with many solo releases, so him coming out with anything new is going to perk my ears. I bought this from him when I saw him in concert, pretty much right after it dropped. His performance at that show was excellent, by the way. A true master of the MPC. This album clocks in at a lean 31 minutes, and i'm sorry to say that I really don't enjoy it that much. His familiar style is imprinted within the beats, which are all decent, but somehow manage to come off as both bland and intricate at the same time. Most of the songs are about half instrumental, and then the other half of the song we hear Jel doing this sort of talk-rapping, which I find distracting from the beats, but also just kind of a mood killer in general. This album isn't bad, it just wasn't what I am looking for. Check out the video for "Breathe". Also check out "La Resolve" and "Steady".

Kool Keith & Big Sche Eastwood - "Magnetic Pimp Force Field" - 2013

This is definitely a strange album. Keith sounds slightly more focused than he has in a little while. This is probably his best release since Dr. Dooom 2. Big Sche (that's pronounced Ski) holds his own as the other half of the duo, and ends up not falling prey to the Ced Gee syndrome of not being able to hold a candle to Keith while collaborating with him. On some of the songs I even prefer his verse over Keith's. The sound of this album comes off as some pimps attempting a nerdcore type vibe, and this mostly works. The production on this album is similar to the "Tashaan Dorsett" album, but I like these beats a little better. There's a couple missteps, like "Natural High", where they cheesily sample off the Kavinsky song from Driver, or "I'm Insane", which sounds like a poor replication of something that would come out on Strange Music, but most of this album sounds good, as long as you don't mind excessive Star Wars references. Check out "Death Star Pimp Mobile", "Ewokie Galaxy Swag", "Magnetic Pimp Force Field", "Thunder Cats With Jet Packs", and "Ride & Mug".

Lorn - "Debris" 2013

Lorn came out of nowhere a few years ago and caught my ear with some of his beat creations. He showed skill and a good ear, but also even more so, potential to be even greater. He signed to Ninja Tune shortly after, and his releases since then have been disappointing to me, but mostly because he seemed like the type of artist that would steadily progress his style over time, into the future, instead of re-doing things he's already done. This EP fares a little better to me than the last few things I heard from him, but only barely. This is still just a decent release and not a must-hear, but it does show promise again. Check out "Karma", "Debris", and "Inverted". I couldn't find a link for my favorite track on here, "Bury Your Brother".

Latyrx - "Disconnection" 2012

OK, for as big of a fan as I am of them, i've been really shitty at checking out these reunited Latyrx releases. After hearing this EP, i'm wondering if I had some type of sixth sense feeling that these releases might not be that good. I've been enjoying Lyrics Born's genre bending solo ventures, for the most part, but Lateef's solo material has always left a lot to be desired, and i've always felt he was an MC in hip hop that has some of the highest levels of raw talent and skill in history, but outside of the old Latyrx stuff and a couple random guest appearances, he never really manifests that level of talent on records. These guys CLEARLY are still able to rhyme and flow with all the best of them, but this EP unfortunately suffers from dope verse/corny chorus syndrome, as well as having the same issue I have with a lot of more recent Zion I or Grouch & Eligh releases, where you can hear an underground producer trying to reach for a mainstream audience, but the way they go about it ends up sounding insincere, or just slightly too thin. Check out the videos for "Call To Arms". (This is probably my favorite track on the EP as well. It's too bad i'm already familiar with this sample as being part of a Buck 65 song. It takes away from it a little for me) and "Gorgeous Spirits (Aye, Let's Go!)". Also check out "It's Time" (featuring Zion I).

Api Uiz - "Au Grand" 2012

Another one of those blind downloads that panned out. This is just 2 instrumental songs full of some nice crunchy yet noodly rock. Both songs just kind of flow like water down a stream and i'd like to hear more from this group. Upon doing some research I found that this band is from France and have existed since the mid 90's. This is a re-release of a 2002 single/EP that was put out under a different alias. I would recommend this to any fans of instrumental music. I can't find any links to share, sorry.

7 Days Of Funk - "7 Days Of Funk" 2013

This is an album I meant to review during the winter earlier this year, and then I lost my damn hard drive and had to spend half of 2014 rebuilding it, and this blog suffered from that. I've been trying to go back and catch all the "must-hear" releases I missed, but some always fall through the cracks. 7 Days Of Funk is the duo of Snoop Dogg & Dam-Funk, and the fact they decided to come up with an actual group name gives me hope that this isn't just a one-off project, but maybe something they will continue to collaborate on over the years. For those unaware, Dam-Funk is a veteran bedroom musician, who spent years being an unknown, just piling up more and more songs, who was then signed to Stones Throw Records and released his debut album in 2009, well over the age of 30. I love hearing about later in life success stories, and Dam (pronounced Dame) might be my favorite. He is someone who has a singular vision of what dope music made by him should sound like, and has never quit doing that, even when his style was out of fashion with the rest of the world. He pretty much had to wait for what he does to come back in style, and now is his time to shine. He's easily one of the best live performers and most knowledgeable DJ's i've ever seen, and it's extra cool that someone with the stature of Snoop Dogg decided to extend a hand and ask him to collaborate on something. The run time on this is only about 34 minutes, so it's more like a long EP, but there's no weak moments. Just Snoop doing some laid back singing and rapping over Dam's funky, synth laden beats, with a couple guest appearances from Dogg Pound. This is definitely the best thing i've heard Snoop do in years. They ran a contest for fans to make videos for these songs, so there's tons of different videos for these tracks out there, which I think is awesome. Check out the videos for "Faden Away", "Hit Da Pavement", "I'll Be There", "Do My Thang", and "High Wit Me". Also check out "Systamatic" (featuring Dogg Pound) and "Let It Go".

BitsBits: Blogmix October 2014

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

This is the monthly mix that I do where I best try to summarize this blog in a mix format and also add a couple other interesting songs I might've heard within the last month as well. This month's mix features songs by: Aaron Freeman, The Frogs, Ty Segall, Paul White, Cibo Matto, Copywrite, Hank Williams III, Aesop Rock, DJ Clent, Bonobo, Szjerdene, Tokimonsta, Greetings From Tuskan, Kutt Calhoun, Brotha Lynch Hung, Magnum, French Fries, Bare, Jai Paul, Real Estate, The Both, Knxwledge, Milo, DJ Q-Bert, and Wo Fat