Ayno Goze - Deep Bathtub Blues

Hey everyone, I'm very excited this week to be reviewing Ayno Goze's Deep Bathtub Blues.  Ayno Goze is an electronic producer from Stockholm, Sweden.  He has been producing music in a personal capacity for several years now, and his full length debut, Deep Bathtub Blues, is inspired by his time DJing and teaching english in South East Asia, and his love for taking long bathtub sessions after a busy day.  Structurally, his music draws on elements of dub and future garage to create very deeply textured and smooth atmospheres.  He often also combines found sounds with guest vocals, and deep, reverb soaked synthesizers to create oddly bright, but still heavy and spacy music.

This release stays pretty firmly in a slow dub-reggae tempo, rarely rearing its head with faster songs.  However, on songs like "Castle of Sand" and "Educaged"the percussion is really punchy and aggressive, which keeps the songs moving forward nicely.  These couple of songs really remind me old Gorillaz tracks like "Ghost Train".  For a song like "Killing the Ghost" though, it builds up nicely early on and then it doesn't really go anywhere.  As with most of these beats, it starts out on a really firm foot with some aquatic synth work and a nice reggae chord progression, but then it doesn't develop enough to stay involving all the way through.

Like trying to eat a three piece fish and chips dinner.  It can't be done.

I also find myself very mixed on some of these vocals.  I love the passion and intensity in Ayno's voice when he really belts it out on "Reload" before the interlude, but I also find him somewhat ineffectual on "SMOKE Night FIRE Day."  I also really love Emma's contributions to "Bleep" and "Killing the Ghost."  In "Bleep," her smooth voice really keeps the mood bright and hopeful while the backing instrumentation is so deep, and saturated with reverb.  The effect is akin to shining a light into the bottom of a lake.  Also, the lyrics on the close of that song are seriously catchy.  Just closing my eyes and imagining her singing "away, away, away, ow, ow, ow..." is nearly enough to send me to a contented slumber.

The synth work compliments all of these vocal textures nicely wherever they appear.  I find that none of it is especially colourful, but despite its deep aquatic vibe it has a strange sort of luminosity that keeps the album from being too dark or oppressive.  I like how dusty and sullen they sound on "Educaged," and I also like how serene and beautiful they sound on "Bleep."  Through a lot of the album as well, the synth lines kind of float away as if the sound was contained in air bubbles slipping away from you to the surface of the water.

I remember hearing that drowning was a serene experience

In closing, I thought Deep Bathtub Blues was a good debut album.  Ayno Goze has a very prominent command of the textures in his music.  The synths, the background noise, and the vocals are all blended very well, making for some solid atmospheric music (my personal favourites were the tracks with Emma).  Nothing really sounds out of place, or hastily put together on any of these songs.  However, the one major problem that keeps me from thoroughly enjoying it is the pacing.  If the beats had a tighter control of energy, maybe by introducing new elements and taking them away with a greater sense of purpose, then this could be a really great album.

You can listen to Deep Bathtub Blues on Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/album/2AM2UiRAHuhvLbUNotxdGV
If you're in Canada like me, you will have to listen to the sampler on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/ayno-goze
Alternatively, you can purchase it now on Itunes.
https://itunes.apple.com/se/album/deep-bathtub-blues/id672720099

Thanks a lot for reading everyone!

Kanye West - Yeezus

Can you hear all that buzz?  It is still quite loud from where I am standing.

Kanye West has released another album into the world, and all of us are caught up in the swirling torrents of his ego that are spilling forth from it.  Personally, I haven't ever been interested in what Kanye West does.  I used to think that his voice sounded too clean and not expressive enough to mix with a lot of his beats.  My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy did peak my interest, mainly because of "Power" and "Runaway" which I thought were both great tracks. On my first listen though, I remained pretty blase, until the line at the beginning of "Runaway" finally forced me to engage with what Kanye was doing.

"Find pictures in my email. I sent this bitch a picture of my dick.  I dunno what it is with females, but I'm not good with that shit."

I sent out thirty dick picks today! you tell me why I can't get a girlfriend!

What a ridiculous fool!  You don't know what it is? maybe start by analysing that thing you just said, Kanye.  How could you ruin such a heavy, emotional beat, and what is actually a very personal and revealing song, with such a terrible opening line?

Then my brain really tried to make sense of it, and I was left with a choice: either Kanye is completely bonkers for including this laughable and out of place line in an otherwise involving and tragic song, or he is a genius for divulging the true ridiculousness of his personality in a way that is so obnoxious and hilarious, you couldn't miss it.  Applying this dichotomy outwards, to the rest of Kanye's music, really gives an explanation as to why his music is so polarizing.  Kanye makes incredibly well produced rap music with lyrics as nonplus as Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock (It's been proven).  We as an audience have to fill in our enormous questions about what is going on in his music with our opinions of him as a person.  The gaps are so large, that anyone really taking apart his music would end up either thinking he was a moron or a genius.  When you look at his lyrics, there really seems like no other options.

or you may end up wanting sweet and sour sauce...

Yeezus is definitely no different on the lyrical side.  It might even be worse.  However, on this new album, the real change is in the production.  Kanye dives into the harsh, alienating electronic noise of artists like Death Grips, leaving behind his older soul inspired pop production techniques.

First off, the way the electronic beat rolls back in on itself in "On Sight" sounds highly similar to Death Grips' "Come Up and Get Me" but without any of the intensity or insanity, and part way through the song there is a highly out of place soul sample.  It might be a reference to his older work, but it is so jarring; it's hard to appreciate it.  The other time that this kind of smashing of genres happens is on the track "Blood on the Leaves."  In this song, the beat is much better blended, but this combination of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" with Kanye's ridiculous autotuned voice and frankly stupid lyrics is just tasteless.  It's uncommon for me to stop a song, but there is a first time for everything...

In this song, and in "New Slaves" it seems like Kanye is trying to make a strong statement about racism, or something, but he gets quickly sidetracked by his bravado and doesn't bother going back to make his lyrics make sense.  It doesn't even seem like he tries.

I should totally talk about croissants right now.  Ya now would be a great time.

This is honestly a shame, because these beats are fantastic.  The deep underwater bloops of the electronics in "New Slaves" are threatening and chaotic, the TNGHT horns in "Blood on the Leaves" are fat as hell, The percussion in "Black Skinhead" is explosive, and the skidding glitching beat in "I Am a God" is tense.    Again and again though; I can't enjoy any of them while listening to Kanye say things like "I just talked to Jesus. he said what up Yeezus? I said shit I'm chillin, tryin to stack these millions."  Seriously, what the fuck?

I really tried, but I can't take this album seriously.  I think the beats are nearly perfect.  They each hold their own moods, and progress with expert precision and there was no moment when I felt the album dragged, or went too quickly.  I also appreciate that Kanye changing his production style this much would be akin to Van Gogh learning how to paint cubism and then doing it perfectly, and that these are really forward thinking beats to be released into mainstream audience.  However, In this entire album, I failed to find one thing I could relate to, sympathize with, or understand.  I found myself lurching from song to song in a confused state, half laughing and half disgusted, taking a break every thirty seconds to stare in disbelief at the lyrics wondering if this is a real thing.  I still don't know.

Discussion

• Do you think Kanye West a Genius or a fool? Give me your best argument!
• Do songs like "New Slaves" show that this album has a message? what do you pull out of it as a whole?
• Are there ways to tastefully remix old protest songs such as "Strange Fruit?" or are these some things that are just off limits?

Thanks for reading!

River Tiber - Synapses

River Tiber is the project of Tommy Paxton-Beesley, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from Toronto.  I believe Synapses is his first full length album, however there was the Massachusetts EP, released in March of 2012, and another release back in 2011, titled From Now On, which I couldn't dig up any info on.  His music has a very spacy and eerie vibe, which employs drifting arpeggiated guitars, sputtering electronics, and a haunting vocal delivery.

Right off the bat, you may notice a strong Radiohead influence, especially in the style of the albums In Rainbows and Kid A.  This comparison really hits me on the second track "The Ancients."  The builds, the electronic percussion, and especially the transition into the chorus, with the ghostly voices and rising guitar melody, remind me strongly of a song like "15 Step."  Also, the electronically manipulated voice on the closer, "What are you afraid of?"  reminded me of "Fitter Happier," but it doesn't stick around for very long.  Sounding very close to such a famous band isn't always the greatest, but I really admire River Tiber's dedication to mood.  All of the songs coalesce very well to form a listening experience akin to sleeping in a stasis pod on the far side of the moon.

If you get up...you're in trouble.

The artful electronic, and acoustic, percussion really keeps this album alive for me.  Otherwise, the guitars in a song like "Subtract" would stagnate quickly.  There were a couple instances where I felt that it could have been mixed better, like in the song "Prophets."  When the clapping comes in, it starts to feel cluttered until the screaming guitar blows everything apart later on in the song.  Mostly, these songs build very deliberately and subtly, giving them a syrupy sense of progression.

The other prominent feature of this album is the guitar work.  In some places it feels monotonous.  In "Atlantis," "The Star Falls," and "What are you afraid of?" I like the way that the arpeggios float out towards you and build up like smoke, but these three songs all use the guitar in a very similar way.  These songs all develop very differently though, which saves them from being too samey.  River Tiber also has some great solos sprinkled throughout this album that will take you by surprise.

In closing, the similarity to Radiohead may really turn some people off of this project, but I think this album has more to offer than just that comparison.  Tommy Paxton-Beesley has some serious songwriting talent, tight attention to mood, and a knack for the slow build.  It is a very solid effort in almost every aspect, and since you can get it for free, there is no excuse not to give it a listen.

Download Link -> http://rivertiber.com/

Discussion

• Listening to this album, I couldn't help but think of this video from my contemporary(Ya right. I Wish.), The Needle Drop.  What do you think about this?
• Synapses is backed by a very gripping and artistic set of Youtube videos, how you do you feel your perception of a song changes with the music video? Is this a good or a bad thing?
• Which stasis pod would you rather wake up in? the one from Alien or the one from Moon?

Thanks for reading!

Future Bible Heroes at Earbuddy

Hey people,

I just reviewed (Slashed and Burned) the new Future Bible Heroes album, Partygoing for Earbuddy.net.  Give it a read here: http://tinyurl.com/ma44a2c, and let me know what you think!

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

"Dear congregation,

We are gathered here today to witness the baptism of a new member of our holy family."

A sweaty and stunned looking Ezra Koenig waits just out of view, in the clutches of an eager girl, whose face shimmers like the golden cross around her neck.  She intends to hold him for his assurance, but she might as well be a pair of shackles.  Suddenly his name is called and he's pushed into the spotlight as the audience applauds. 

"Wait!" he cries. 

"Let me think about this for a while."

The priest, Father Paul Simon, nods confidently in agreement and the congregation leaves Ezra to think.

The outcome of this imaginary scene is Modern Vampires of the City; Vampire Weekend's third album.  The group has turned their attention away from Caribbean music, towards more straight-laced indie pop with a slight gospel bent.  It is less flamboyant than their earlier work, but it retains the precociousness and clever lyricism that makes this group so engaging.

Thematically, this album revolves around a doubtful relationship with Christianity, ageing, and death.  Judging by the lyrics in "Obvious Bicycle" and "Unbelievers," it seems like selfishness and distrust mainly keeps Ezra from his faith.  Although he seems cynical, the upbeat and cheery delivery keeps it both relatable and likable. These themes, combined with the slower pace of the album, make it the most thematically focused and mature work Vampire Weekend has done yet.

These more serious topics in the lyrics also reflect a disenchanted feeling in the instrumentation.  It is nowhere near as bright and colourful as the rest of Vampire Weekend's work.  They have eliminated the bongos, steel drums, and even most of the guitars and string sections that used to define them.  In their place they use a lot of ancient sounding keys, and even the occasional choir, but it is definitely sparser.  It gives their music an airy and smoke filled quality, which doesn't always work perfectly.  For instance, the harpsichord in "Step" sounds hazy and frayed, like it's being played in a dusty cathedral.  I hear the same musky acoustics coming off the organs in "Finger Back," "Everlasting Arms," and almost every other time it makes an appearance.  Although it may be a stylistic choice, I still don't like how it sounds.  To me, it muddles the prim and proper, Princeton image that they are still trying to cultivate.  "Diane Young" is the clear exception to this.  The synths and the bass in this track are just so sharp and crisp.  Every time they play, it's like being slapped in the face...in a good way.

This is going to sound awesome!

The last thing I want to point out is Ezra Koenig's voice.  In "Ya Hey" it is unbearably annoying.  It sounds like a character from a kids cartoon targeted at the hyperactive and hard of hearing.  They use some far more endearing effects in "Diane Young" to make it sound like they are inflating and deflating him like some sort of balloon. 

In closing, I don't think that this is Vampire Weekend's best album, but I definitely don't dislike it.  They definitely show some more confidence on slower songs.  It's also great to see that their songwriting can stand out, without the embellishments of the instruments they are used to playing with.  If it weren't for the dirtiness of the production and Ezra Koenig's unpredictable and sometimes shrill voice, this album could have been great, but I think it stops just short of that.

Major Lazer - Free the Universe

I first heard Major Lazer several years ago.  When this happened, I wasn't even trying to listen to him.  I was just doing what I do during every waking moment of my life, which is clicking links on Reddit.  This happened to be the link I clicked on at that moment:

I laughed...a lot, but I was also intensely confused, and somewhat offended by the obnoxious stupidity of this video.  "Who created this?" I wondered.  Who would have the audacity to make something so "pants on head" retarded and how did he make it so catchy? Major lazer has taken club music by storm with this obnoxious, Caribbean bro-step so intensely that you can almost guarantee you will hear him next time you're getting down at a nightclub.

When this happens, you will definitely know. Diplo and Switch, the producers who used to comprise Major Lazer, have consistently been able to put themselves ahead of the mainstream pop music by making their music at least as offbeat and insane, as it is catchy and well produced.  Also, their choice of features, musicians famous for making music in the genres Major Lazer was more or less lampooning, gave their music a sense of integrity rather than mockery.  Now Switch is off the project though, and Diplo has continued it solo on the new album Free the Universe.

With Switch leaving, I feel like a sense of restraint and focus has also left Major Lazer, which makes the project feel more insincere.  For instance, Amber Coffman's voice on "Get Free" is uplifting, like a sunrise over the Serengeti, but the lyrical themes about government oppression are simply unbelievable coming from a Texan-born singer and a British producer.  In this respect, the other reggae track, "Jessica," sung by Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend, feels much more unassuming.  Even though it is silly, it's still very likable.

Just Like Ezra Koenig is!

The rest of the album is more hectic than a Carnival parade.  The vocals on the first couple of songs "You're No Good" and "Jet Blue Jet" don't come close to matching the energy of the synths and drums, and the smarmy way that they are sung in the bridge on "Wind Up" makes me cringe...hard.  It sounds like Diplo gets anxious quickly and rather than let the beat continue, he just adds in random sounds, like that stadium announcer voice, or the comical laughing, or the one line guest spots.  It really breaks up the flow of most of these new songs.

Also, the weird mishmashes of guests he features on each track don't fit well.  They just aren't used as purposefully as on Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do.  Also, I have no idea what dumpster Diplo found Shaggy in, but he certainly didn't do him any favours by getting him to sing on "Keep cool (Life is What)."  Shaggy was tacky in the 90's when he was still a recognizable performer and ten years later he sounds even more ridiculous.  Ok, I'll stop with the Shaggy hate.  It wasn't him, after all.

In summing this album up, even though I praised Major Lazer for being wacky in the past, the way Diplo is going about it now has several flaws.  It's just too much.  The beats are consistently overproduced, and far too aggressive without sticking to any sort of theme or letting an idea play out.  The guest spots are bizarre and crowded like a clown car, and it doesn't feel like Major Lazer is actually putting any thought into them.  Major Lazer is at its best when the guest spots are limited and the production is more relaxed like in "Get Free," "Jah no Partial," and "Watch Out for This (Bumaye)."  Other than those tracks (which are pretty good), very little about this album appeals to me. 

Discussion!

• I avoided rushing into a discussion about cultural appropriation, but my review hinted at it anyways.  Do you feel like Major Lazer does this negatively? is it a problem for you?
• Does Major Lazer's zaniness appeal to you or do you find yourself overloaded?

Thanks for reading! let me know what you think in the comments.

The Knife - Shaking the Habitual

Hello everyone! I am sorry that it has been a while, but I hung myself up on this review because I found this album very hard to approach.  This shouldn't be a surprise for anyone familiar with the Knife's work in general, or with this album in particular.  They have always had a shadowy and evil character to their electro pop, but as they produce more albums they seem to fade even further into the abyss.

The last studio album from the Knife was 2006's Silent Shout.  Since then, the group has produced Karin Dreijer Andersson's sullen and haunting solo project Fever Ray, and an obtuse Avant-garde opera about the life of Charles Darwin, titled Tomorrow in a Year.  I wouldn't recommend the latter of these two, unless you feel like being confused and horrified for 90 minutes straight.  However, it does help to be aware of it, in order to understand the more acoustic and experimental direction they followed from that point to their new album Shaking the Habitual.  They experiment with the same instruments on both albums, but this time they have actually mastered them, rather than just experimenting wildly.

The Knife could find a way to play a mean mayonnaise. 

This new work is still heavily experimental, but the structure is much more fluid, and feels more organic than Tomorrow in a Year.  However, Just because it flows well, don't think it's going to be a relaxing listen.  When the Knife says they are Shaking the Habitual, they clearly mean it.

Because of its name, I was expecting something more pointed and political.  Instead I received an amorphous, impenetrable blob of primordial ooze.  This fact alone would annoy me more if the cathartic experimentation wasn't the message in and of itself.  I think this decision goes hand in hand with the acoustic direction.  It almost feels like a regression through time, back to humanity's infancy.  There is less structure, and less electronics, and instead more unpredictability, and more emotional indulgence.

You want a nine minute, ambient, brainmelter with synths deep enough to hide the lochness monster in? and with only four lyrics about eating coffee and cake for lunch? Bam! "Cherry on Top," how about 20 minutes of tense, dissonant groaning created by recording noise in a boiler room with sputtering percussion that builds to nowhere? No? TOO BAD! "Old Dreams Waiting to be Realized!"

Shaking the Habitual is profound in its commitment to unbridled emotional expression.  The Knife doesn't shy away from a feeling or a thought until it has fully run its course, whether it takes 20 minutes or 37 seconds. Despite the huge variation in song lengths and styles, It is consistently dark, bold, and unapologetically ferocious.  These songs are so seriously far off the deep end; they could have been written by Cthulhu himself.  They do have their more accessible moments though.

Because Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn would be such a good chorus...

Like the single, "A Tooth for an Eye."  It has all the characteristics of a great Knife song: a steady build, intricate percussion, and disturbing vocal manipulations underwritten by a challenge of gender roles (which they expressed nicely in the music video).  This song and the other pagan dance ritual, "Without You My Life Would be Boring," are definitely the high points on the album for me.  They have a determined, satanic energy that makes me want to run until my lungs cave in, or scream till I start coughing up blood.

The second track "Full of Fire," is also a pounding, percussive, tour de force with some really devastating drum rolls, but I seriously hate the vocal delivery.  Despite its different manipulations, it remains displeasing to me in a way that isn't bold enough to make me more than mildly uncomfortable.  In fact, if I had to pick one thing I really didn't like about Shaking the Habitual, it would be the singing in general.  Usually, the Knife's strange vocals are blended seamlessly with their malevolent synthesizers, but their move to this more acoustic sound leaves the vocals sounding out of place in the beginnings of "Raging Lung," "Full of Fire," and "Ready to Lose."  They are eventually blended together, but the moments where they appear on their own are glaringly lacklustre.

At the end of this thing, and after reading the insane manifesto the Knife produced to describe it; I feel this album defies being rated on a traditional scale.  If someone were to give it a bad rating rating for being an inaccessible, shadowy behemoth without structure, catchy lyrics, or any semblance of comfort anywhere in it, then they would merely be confirming its existence as something disturbingly outside the ordinary.  It is long and disquieting and it may burn you out before it finishes, but this nightmare deserves your time and effort.  It will remind you that the strange, the beautiful, and the horrifying are not always separate when we encounter them within ourselves or hidden within the depths of the world.  By presenting them wholesale, and not parsing them down or separating them the Knife has created something truly disturbing and intensely thought provoking.  My god that was long.

Discussion!

• Honestly, the one thing I am curious about with this album is how other people experienced it.  Could you listen to the whole thing? Did it make you uncomfortable? Did it inspire you to think or did it just confuse you?

I really want to engage with people about this album, rather than just adding my review to the pile of positive reviews that already exist for it.  Please let me know in the comments.

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

I never thought I would actually look forward to reviewing a Justin Timberlake album. I still find it hard to push out of my mind that NSYNC was a thing.  The boy band era is  long over now, and Justin Timberlake has clearly come into his own as an artist since then.

However, the 20/20 Experience is not something completely new or estranged from its roots in early 2000's pop music.  Every now and again you do actually hear the same quiet aside "Take em to the bridge" from "Sexyback" on Futuresex/Lovesounds, but it is cohesive and spectacular in its own way. Plus who really get tired of 2000's pop music.  Like a finely crafted suit; even after many wears it will still impress. 

In many ways, this album rejoices in its predictability. To me, It basically begs the question: if something isn't original, but is still executed with expert precision, is there anything wrong with that? Like when JT takes the love/drug cliche in "Pusher Love" and plays it out for 8 minutes until it basically implodes, or the song "That Girl" with its crisp 70's, soul style, brass. Yes we have heard these themes many times before, but that doesn't make them less true, or less appealing to me. The 20/20 Experience serves as a reminder of why we love these old tropes: they are simple and they are beautiful.

Plus we have all had enough surprises from JT in the past.

A sense of familiarity also manifests itself in the song lengths.  Most of them clock in around 7-8 minutes, which is a gutsy move, but he pulls it off with smooth transitions, catchy hooks, and glitzy instrumentation.  He is much more comfortable here than on Futuresex/Lovesounds, where I found that most of the songs became stale far before they ended. These tracks are long enough that you could easily memorize the choruses on one listen, which means that if each song didn't have strong, catchy lyrics, this album would have fallen flat on its face...hard.  At least it wouldn't have broken its glasses!..hah 20/20 vision.

That being said, its not like the beats can't stand on their own. They are spectacular and grandiose, and they borrow from many different worlds of music. The track "Don't Hold the Wall" has a very salsa inspired drum beat. The muted arpeggio in the song "Tunnel Vision" sounds like something Flying Lotus could have produced. The backwards strings in the song "Blue Ocean Floor" are just sublime, and set against JT's silky voice, the whole effect is otherworldly.  However, as I listen to this album more and more, I honestly wonder where the 20/20 Experience will get played.  It's not high energy enough for a club, and its consistently too long for the radio.  I normally wouldn't ask this question, but since it's a pop album, I feel compelled to.  The songs are unquestionably meant for dancing, but their control of energy makes me think that only a trained dancer could handle them in a performance; someone like Justin Timberlake.  Which I think really validates the album's name.  Is is an experience, like some gargantuan piece of musical theater.

And I have always wanted to hear more from The Pusher

Once Justin Timberlake sticks into a groove he doesn't let go of it.  He gives each song its own time to run its course.  It is a testament to his self confidence and it also serves as a metaphor for the love and commitment that he praises constantly.  Because above all, this album is about love, not the "Hey I just bought you the on-special highball, so let's we go fuck in a dark corner of the club" kind of love that most pop stars relish, rather the "Hey I taped Grey's Anatomy for you so we can watch it while i give you a foot massage" love. That classic stuff.

Discussion!

• Are the lyrics too bogged down in cliche to carry deeper meaning for you?
• Can you dig into the song lengths? or do you find them becoming boring?
• Does Justin Timberlake's past identity as a boy band member make it hard for you to take him seriously as an artist?

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.

Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

Hello everyone! we recently just passed 1000 views, which is a big milestone for me.  I am so happy people have been taking the time to read my opinions on music.  Thank you so much.  Why don't we celebrate with an album review. This week I am thinking people might like Autre Ne Veut's Anxiety, but screw you man! I'm a punk at heart, so I'm doing Foxygen's new album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (I'll save Anxiety for next week).

Wow that is a mouthful, and I think it really goes a long way to demonstrating the bombastic, sassy energy that this band puts into their music. On this album, they seem far more comfortable settling into some steadier grooves then in their previous LP, Take the Kids off Broadway, but they still come off sounding like the Rolling stones haven't been taking their ADD medication.

"I see a red door and I want it painted black, no blue, no yellow, no lets leave it red, no LETS KNOCK IT DOWN!"

Of course, I would not necessarily count this against them, but I can easily see how their music could seem ridiculous or uncommitted.  The high energy, tempo changes, and strange lyrics don't exactly paint a graceful picture as much as they do a burlesque parody of 70's rock and roll.

However, on this new album, the lyrics are a lot more comprehensible and more personal than on Take the Kids off Broadway.  Like in the song "On Blue Mountain" which seems to detail a fracturing relationship with Christianity.  The control of energy in this song is just fantastic; the tempo changes smoothly a couple times as the bass and organ swell and burst, and Sam France just screams "On blue mountain God will save you" till it sounds like he basically dies of exhaustion.  Another quite personal track on this album is the song "No Destruction," which talks about getting rejected by a girl for being a pot smoking ne'er do well.  The first verse is quite calm, but his depression turns to frustration in the second verse as he comes back to repeat the same phrases in such an angry sarcastic spit.  It's no mystery how he feels.

Rejection, frustration, failure, and fun all seem to be pretty major themes in this album.  Even on the more relaxed elevator, psych-rock single "San Francisco."   Though I was initially put off by the mockingly cheerful melody and the vocalists' disinterested delivery, the chorus of this song is seriously infectious.  The reverb on the female voice makes it sound like it is inside the singer's head, telling him his decisions are o.k. because "She was bored anyway."  The crass attitude of this song also carries over into my favourite track "Oh Yeah" which should have you dancing at least by the time they start singing the hokey pokey in the second verse.  There is also some stellar guitar work hidden in the background.

The whole album is deeply rooted in smart ass sass, but what really makes it alluring for me is that they are able to take a fun attitude to some downtrodden topic matter.  It is teenage angst at its finest, where frustration and anger are motivated by excess energy and boredom, and validated by rock and roll and drugs.  I feel this album also stands against and mocks some of the music we most associate with rebellious youth culture, like it is a recognition of how patronizing it is to have music made specifically to appeal to the youth.  Foxygen's take on rock and roll is full of sass, which can make it sit uncomfortably between homage and parody, but this album is so full of Holden Caulfield likability and youthful exuberance, its hard not to love it.  Stay gold Foxygen.  Stay gold.

Discussion!

• Would you feel like this album could be a parody or an homage to 70's rock and roll?
• Do you enjoy Sam France's vocal delivery? or does his swing from flat monotone to hoarse screaming put you off?
• Is it too sassy to seriously convey some topic material you can relate to?

Let me know in the comments!

Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse

Oh boy.  This one is exciting.  I hope you all have had a chance to listen to Youth Lagoon's 2011 album, The Year of Hibernation.  The album is a sleepy, minimalist hug, that fits perfectly for any rainy afternoon.  Even though it explores topics of mental distress, it remains quiet and comforting all the way through.  In some spots it may also feel like it needs you to hug it back, especially when Trevor Powers quietly croaks "You make real friends quickly, but not me." on the opening track "Posters."  The album felt so friendly, it disappointed me greatly that it was only 35 minutes long, but now Youth Lagoon is back! and is he ever.

The first thing I noticed on Wondrous Bughouse, is that the comforting, careful ambiance is gone.  We have been thrown into a fuzzy , wild, unpredictable dimension of experimental dream pop and noise.  Someone must have given poor sweet Trevor Powers drugs...lots of drugs.

A Wondrous Bughouse Indeed

This new album is a very bold move from Youth Lagoon.  He has moved in a direction that I did not expect at all, the songs, and the whole album, are longer(almost 50 minutes), the tone is much brighter, the effects are heavier, and the song structures are much looser and more experimental.  It really reminds of the decision   that MGMT made on their sophomore LP Congratulations.  Rather than produce another accessible record in the same style, Youth Lagoon has decided to get more psychedelic and really see how far the rabbit hole goes.

And Boy Does It Go

 It definitely seems like a much more intuitive exploration of various mental states, than The Year of Hibernation, especially thanks to the more experimental song structures.  The first song that really grabbed me in this respect was the track "Attic Doctor", the song has this tipsy melody and a strange rhythm that makes it turn back in on itself like a snake, or a caterpillar.  Also, the intro,"Through Mind and Back", has this dissonant and hazy, droopy quality where it sounds like music were used to from Youth Lagoon is bubbling and melting away.  It sets the tone perfectly.

This droopy warbling sound is definitely a centerpiece on this album, and I absolutely love how the track "Mute" uses it in the keys to make it sound like some kind of broken carnival game.  This same tripped out carnival fun-house also makes an appearance in the song "Third Dystopia," but the picture is more painted by the wacky percussion here than anything else.  It also features nicely on the song "Sleep Paralysis" which wilts away slowly before turning into a introspective psychedelic waltz.

Make Sure to Dress Appropriately

Of course if all these fuzzy, rippling effects are too much for you, there are remnants of Youth Lagoon's older style, like in the songs "Raspberry Cane," "The Bath," and "Dropla."  All three of which have nice straightforward builds that were explored greatly on The Year of Hibernation.  They still differ from his earlier approach though, in that they are brighter, louder, and far more distorted.  Actually, if I had to point out one thing I did not like about this album, it's that the loud effects and distortion on these songs make it nearly impossible to discern the lyrics.  It can be uncomfortable and overpowering, but in most places it adds a hazy and watery lens through which to view this golden afternoon.

Discussion!

• Is this new album too much of a change in mood from The Year of Hibernation for you to still connect with Youth Lagoon's music?
• Do the effects obscure more than they reveal? Does what they communicate about the atmosphere come at the expense of connecting to the lyrics?
• Does Trevor Power's voice fit nicely with the other instrumentation? or is it too easily overpowered by the bright noisy, synths and keys?

Let me know what you think in the comments!

A$AP Rocky - Long Live A$AP

It has been nearly two years since A$AP Rocky stomped out of Harlem with the Live Love A$AP debut mixtape.  The critically acclaimed collection of songs got Rocky a three million dollar record contract with Sony and RCA Music, and when you listen to it, you can hear why.  Rocky has a wide range of appeal, and although the topic matter is not always there to back up his focused and well crafted image, his confidence will keep you entertained as long as you don't pay too close attention to what he is actually saying.

Live Love A$AP had Rocky constantly rapping about what he was wearing, drinking, smoking, and little else.  This makes him quite similar to other top forty artists, but where A$AP Rocky stands apart is in his expertly crafted, smoked out aesthetic, and his lurching, swaggering, self assured delivery.  Basically, he raps the same way Captain Jack Sparrow stumbles around in Pirates of the Caribbean.

On Long Live A$AP, Rocky keeps up this style fairly well.  Frankly, the beats are impeccable.  They are consistently dark and hazy, but each one is unique enough to keep the album engaging.  He also ventures into some new sonic territory with the uplifting "Hell(feat. Santigold)," and the epic finisher "Like i'm Apart(feat. Florence Welch)."  Rocky's flow works quite well with these two fabulous singers, and he actually talks about some personal, emotional material when rapping with Florence Welch, which is a nice change.  The only song that felt seriously out of place was Skrillex's addition "Wild For the Night."  Rocky and Skrillex, just shouldn't do any work together, period.  You can't possibly tone down Skrillex's frantic, dial up modem style, electronics enough to match Rocky's drunken flow.

On this same topic, the only real problem I have with Rocky's flow is his tendency to abuse the pitch shifted vocals, especially on the songs "Lvl" and "Pain."  If he didn't constantly remind his audience that he is a pretty nigga with french braids and gold teeth, I would assume he looked like a thugged out Frankenstein.

UNNNNGH...BASS...UNNNGH...BASS.

I also found myself much more engaged when Rocky strayed away from talking about his appearance.  The songs "Phoenix" and "Suddenly" are great examples that Rocky can carry a song with material about his poverty and his youth, even when the beat is understated and calm.  The sad thing is that there just isn't enough of this interesting topic material for me to stay seriously engaged with this album.  Rocky has always been more about style and appearance, than he is about depth and substance, which seems to work for him commercially, but for me that will only keep me engaged for so long.

Other than the singles and the additional songs I mentioned, the beats are so good on this album, that Rocky doesn't really add much by rapping over them.  I find this particularly true for the song "Fashion Killa" which has these dreamy vocal samples, bouncing off the lively percussion, and the song "Ghetto Symphony" that takes an Imogen Heap sample, and switches it back and forth into this airy, threatening swarm of strings.  These beats are so lush and dynamic, they don't really need anyone rapping over them.  Rocky's excellent taste in beats usually does a great job in showcasing his style, but when his rhymes fall flat, they outshine him by miles, and expose his weaknesses clearly, making him seem like a superfluous and unnecessary presence.
 

My Bloody Valentine - MBV

As an Avalanches fan, I understand what it is like to wait a ridiculous amount of time for an album.  Its a terrible process of checking the band's website, praying, listening to nothing in your headphones trying to imagine what it might sound like, and always...always dealing with the crippling doubt that it might not even be worth listening to after such a long wait.  How could one deal with that disappointment after such a patient vigil.   Hypothetically of course...waiting like that would be ridiculous...

seriously, I feel like a victim of emotional abuse.

It has only been about 12 years since Since I Left You, but I still feel like I can sympathize with My Bloody Valentine fans whose last album came out a whopping 21 years ago.  As another side note, it's very strange to think that I have basically lived my entire life in between these two My Bloody Valentine Albums.

And what a time it has been! other bands have flared up and died out like distant stars, and all the while people still listened to, and loved My Bloody Valentine.  What kind of band could inspire such a sustained reverence?

Well, My Bloody Valentine's album Loveless is often considered the pinnacle of shoegaze music, a subgenre typified by the heavy use of effect pedals which drown the music in oceans of fuzz and distorted noise.  The effect is hypnotizing, sexual, and surprisingly relaxing.  My bloody Valentine is especially talented at creating this torrential ocean of noise, and while listening to their music, it often feels as if you could just dissolve yourself in it.  To top it off, Belinda Butcher's voice fits in with the wailing, distorted guitars so snugly, and smoothly there is not one gap in this infernal shower.

Now, on this new album, My Bloody Valentine tries to shoot for the same sound, but falls quite short for  several reasons.

The first track, "She Found Now" is quite slow and methodical.  It is mostly a wall of fuzz that starts to pick up with some barely noticeable strumming towards the end of the song.  Like a lot of the songs on MBV this song does not develop or do anything interesting at all for its entire five minutes.  I like some of the distorted soloing on the next track "Only Tomorrow," but it's so understated, its barely noticeable.  In fact I found that the waves of fuzzy sustained guitar in this entire album were consistently dull.  Rather than thick and murky like an ocean, they are light and airy like a fog, and equally as captivating.

My Bloody Valentine has always been more about the textures of the distortion than the actual song writing, which is fine, but on this album, I found that none of the textures were that finely crafted or well put together.    This leaves nothing engaging in the music at all.  On the tracks "Who Sees You" and "Wonder 2" for instance, I thought that the textures of the vocals did not compliment the sound of the guitars even slightly.

The album really picks up in energy towards the end.  The drums are much more noticeable from "The New You" onward  but even in these songs, they just don't develop enough for them to really be interesting to me.  "Nothing Is" has an incredibly hypnotic repetitiveness to it, but the way it ends is just so abrupt that it makes me think they literally had no other ideas.

To me, this whole album just feels rushed.  They really tried to get it out suddenly without paying enough attention to the pacing, and the blending of the various elements.  It's consistently dull, and none of the songs develop or change in an interesting way.  Even the cover art smacks of intense laziness!  Its bland blue boxes and poorly rendered, 90's style letters represent the disinterested lack of attention with which I feel this whole album was composed.  In the 21 years My Bloody Valentine has been apart, it doesn't sound like they have grown as musicians in any tangible way.  They have been left behind in the 90's, as all of these songs sound like they could have been on Loveless but were cut from it because they had better material.  It really is a shame, because these songs are just so close to being listenable, and if they had taken more time to prepare them, it wouldn't have ended up being the dull grey parade of distorted lethargy that it is.

Burial - Truant / Rough Sleeper

Have you ever had your dance music end up in the same key as some random background noises like a lawn mower or an electric heater?  If this happened at night, in a dumpy part of town, you may already know what it sounds like to listen to Burial.  His work has a very eerie and unexplained quality to it, even though most of it sounds quite beautiful.  It sounds like what you are hearing is being produced by some unknown instrument hiding inside a broken air conditioner rather than a synthesizer or any computer.  Also, All the elements in his music, especially the percussion, are quite stripped down, and the simplicity of it all makes it easy to notice when things warp and change fluidly throughout his songs.

After his 2007 album Untrue, burial has basically stopped producing albums, but is instead producing very forward thinking tracks that are as long as EP`s.  2012`s fantastic Kindred EP only packed three songs, but ran for a total of about 32 minutes.  In this longer format, the tracks have more freedom to meander and explore various pitch shifted vocals and ambient bass noises in a relaxed and very natural way.  Also, since you're not being forced to listen to ten or twelve of these epic tracks together in an album, each one has the opportunity to grip your full attention.

Truant / Rough Sleeper is another step in this exploratory direction, and it is a strong step indeed.  In the Kindred EP the drum samples stayed quite monotonous throughout the different tracks, but in "Truant" they are constantly evolving and changing.  You also hear this Djembe drift in and out of the mix as it being manipulated with all these different filters.  Some other interesting noises you hear in this track are jingling keys, coins dropping, matches burning, and wind chimes, and they all fit together nicely.  The song builds quite slowly, but when it really ramps up around the six minute mark, the effect of the lead synth against the backwards hi-hat, and all these other strange noises is quite beautiful and meditative.

One thing I didn't like very much was the bass sound that comes in around the nine minute mark.  It doesn't stay for very long, but this brief minor turn seems kind of out of place in this otherwise beautifully subtle nocturne.  Because of this substantial emotional change, I would almost rather that the last four minutes were a different song.  I also find that the many times the music stops completely in this song tend to break up the flow too much for a serious groove to ever develop.

"Rough Sleeper" was definitely my favorite of these two tracks.  I feel that the emotion was more consistent all the way through and it has a more fluid progression as well.  The saxophone sample in this song is rusty and haunting, and it fits right in with the many other vocal samples that phase in and out of the music like ghosts.  Later on when the marimba is introduced, the effect is just ethereal.  It fits into the static pops like a glove, and the whole song just sounds like the music is coming from the earth around you rather than your headphones or speakers.  In closing, if an amber lit back alleyway could sing to you, it would sound like Burial.

End of the Year List: Top 25 Singles

Here are my top 25 singles of 2012.  I have only written descriptions of why I like the top five songs, because I don't have the energy to write about all of them.  These are all fantastic songs however, and they are all worth a listen.  I hope you enjoy the list, and I apologize about the load time for all of these embedded videos.

25. Fun. - Some Nights.

24. Japandroids - Evil's Sway.

23. Major Lazer ft Amber of the Dirty Projectors - Get Free.

22. Death Grips - Hacker.

21. Flying Lotus - Getting There.

20. Animal Collective - Monkey Riches.

Unfortunately, I could not find the album version. 

This live version is fantastic though, so enjoy this instead.

19. Daniel Rossen - Return to Form.

18. A Tribe Called Red - Electric PowWow Drum

17. Zammuto - Groan Man, Don't Cry.

16. Pile - Baby Boy.

15. Beach House - Other People.

14. XXYYXX - About You.

13 Fiona Apple - Every Single Night.

12. TNGHT - Higher Ground.

11. Frank Ocean - Pyramids.

10. Dirty Projectors - Unto Caesar.

9. Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless

8. Perfume Genius - No Tear.

7. John Talabot - Last Land.

6. Grizzly Bear - Sleeping Ute.

5. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch, Dant Kill My Vibe.

This is the song that convinced me to listen to Kendrick Lamar in the first place, and despite my dislike of the word "bitch," I think the flow and the atmosphere of this song is ethereal.  Also, the "bitch" he is talking to is the music industry and not a woman, which makes a difference for me.  It details the inharmonious relationship Kendrick has with the industry, the new people around him, having become famous, and his challenge to the typical image of  rappers.  Rather than wearing expensive watches and clothes to convey his image, Kendrick opts to convey real life situations and emotions, which is something I really respect him for.  Musically, the song has a very chilled out backing beat, and the vocal harmony that accompanies the strange effects on Kendrick's voice makes the whole production sound very spacey.  Throughout Good Kid M.A.A.D. City I really appreciated Kendrick's self reflection and integrity, and I really feel like this song is somewhat of a mission statement for his project.  Its great to see such a popular rapper stick to his convictions in such an enjoyable way.

4.  Burial - Kindred

This song is a journey, and I find it oddly comforting.  The only thing that stays very consistent throughout this  twelve minute long, linear, electronic, epic is the drum sample, which repeats endlessly.  But it is something tangible you can hold onto while the actual music of this song is warped and hidden beneath layers of distortion, that pop and crackle like a distant storm.  It is also amazing how the vocal sample can communicate as much longing and sadness as it does, without really mentioning any intelligible words at all.  All you get is the tattered remains of a person singing "Baby you ah ah."  It complements the atmosphere of desolation and ruin that the song builds on for its entire length, especially the moment about four minutes in where only the vocal sample is heard.  It is truly inspired, and even though it has the remnants of a dance track with in it, it sounds like a dance song after a catastrophic disaster.  Hope still remains in this waste land though, and as the song nears completion I really feel like a survivor, conscious of the beauty and preciousness of life.

3 Killer Mike - Southern Fried.

Since I liked every song on Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music, it was hard for me to pick out one that really encapsulated what I liked about the whole album.  I think "Southern Fried" does this nicely.  The lyrics are mostly about being from the south, which is a huge part of Killer Mike's personae, but he also touches on his relationship with his wife, the police, and the music industry, and he says them which a bombastic quickness that would make almost anyone run out of breath before the reached the end of one line.  The double time percussion also adds hugely to this energetic and fiery atmosphere.  Mike's personality rules this song all the way through, and the gospel organs that make up the chorus perfectly reinforce his southern image.  Its a completely airtight rap track, with some amazing production from EL-P, and I find it hard not to like.

2. Animal Collective - Honeycomb.

This single from Animal Collective was a nice surprise for me.  After the reverb flooded haze of Merriweather Post Pavilion, a return to a more energetic musical style was a welcome move for the band.  This single really reminds me of the days of Strawberry Jam, which continues to be my favourite AC album.  I love the weird radio sample at the beginning, which leads immediately into some very noisy synth work and weirdly distorted percussion.  They play with these filters on it for the whole song, and it sounds like its being stretched out and pushed back together very quickly.  The vocal work is also cheery and infectious, even if its nearly impossible to understand what they are saying for any part but the chorus.  The structure of the song is very well thought out too, putting a shorter chorus at the beginning, gives you a taste of all the merriment without wearing you out before the chorus really comes in full force later on.  I sorely wish that all of Centipede Hz would have sounded as good as this song does.

1. Purity Ring - Ungirthed.

Caution.  This video is not safe for work.

Firstly, I love how gargantuan this song is.  It starts out with a tender synth line, which leaves you quite vulnerable for the pitch shifted vocal samples, bass, and percussion that come in quite quickly after.  "Ungirthed" also has quite a nice flow to it, despite the hard hitting bass, and stuttering hip-hop style percussion.  It slides through its different parts with ease, and the drop back into the verse line after the first course is so forceful, it knocks me down every time.  The whole song is also permeated by this intense emotional energy, as if it is just fighting to break loose from some kind of apprehension, and scream about death and sadness till it loses its voice.  The vulnerability of Megan James' sweet voice, is really at odds with the power of the backing instrumentation which creates a feeling of uneasiness for me as well which is just the icing on the cake.