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.
No comments:
Post a Comment