- Prurient, Bermuda Drain: Why make regular old noise when you can conjure up the lovechild of the first Burzum album and Brad Fiedel’s score to The Terminator? The sticker on the LP says: “Listen on headphones while driving through tunnels in Europe.”
- Washed Out, Within And Without: A lush, cleanly produced album that finds Ernest Greene trying to be Sade for dorks like me. Chillwave gets grown and sexy. No really! Just an easy hypnotic listen, which is the point of this junk, right? Review here.
- Murder Mark, Ayo Volume 2: A remix of “H.A.M” that actually goes ham. Futuristic fight songs “In My Hood” and “Tear Shit Up.” A spaced-out cover of the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” Mark should be part of 2011’s global wildin’ out music phenomenon.
- Skinny Friedman, Trap Rave: Moombahton tilted towards the house side of things with lots of trippy effects, just enough island-y atmosphere, AND SOUTHERN RAP SAMPLES. 7 minute moombah-izing of Juicy J’s “Who Da Neighbors” FTW.
- Gucci Mane, Writings On The Wall 2: Successfully mixes his major label self-aware, self-destructive persona with the wounded, word-happy mixtape nihilist we all fell in love with. Expansive, kinda expensive beats from Gucci’s best producers hold it together.
Archive for the ‘2011’ Category
July Picks.
June Picks.
- Bon Iver, Bon Iver, Bon Iver: Lush, unpredictable and flirting with uncool, this gut-level inscrutably sad record’s the best Microphones album since The Glow Pt. 2. If that makes any sense. The thing is this is being underrated.
- AraabMuzik, Electronic Dream: Trance gets the Donuts treatment as this dude avoids hissing howling rap beats to make something that doesn’t even have a name yet. What post-dubstep would sound like if it weren’t so afraid of “bro-step.”
- Clams Casino, Rainforest: Clammy Clams puts together a concept EP about how nature is dark and evil but still uncomfortably beautiful. How spot-on was that Aguirre: The Wrath Of God video, then? Ecstatic truth on wax.
- Beyonce, 4: Straight adoring 80s shit here. An approximation of how those great Whitney Houston LPs feel. It’s all about the gradual slow-burn here, building up to the slightly disappointing “Run The World.” Still great though. Beyonce does chillwave.
- Various Artists, Blow Your Head Vol. 2: Dave Nada Presents Moombahton: House with a hint of reggaeton slowed down and made for dancing with someone else. The hype makes me nervous, the music makes me happy. Munchi’s a genius. The rest still kills.
May Picks.
- Cities Aviv, Digital Lows: Memphis weirdo who makes jokes about white girls who like Mr. Bungle could lean heavily on one of the many sounds he merges here (hypnagogic Flylo weirdness, blog rap from like 2008, post-OF devil rap, broken 90s hip-hop) and get accolades but well, that’s not how you make a great rap album, now is it?
- Dope Body, Nupping: If that new Battles record is a big giant boner kill for you (and it most certainly is, just admit it) try out these angry, noisy, arty, precise Baltimore punks. Tempted to even type the phrase “rip hard” when describing this and you know what man? Fuck it. These guys rip hard. What else out right now sounds like this?
- Spaceghostpurrp, Blvcklvnd Rvdix 66.6 (1991): “Three 6 Mafia-chanting, woozy Wu-Tang loops, DJ Screw wheeze, and Mortal Kombat and Godzilla sound effects, all paired with an off-the-dome rapping style that’s equal parts Lil Wayne and Lil B. It’s as if James Ferraro Lawnmower Man-ed his way into a rap rarity message board.”
- The Sea And Cake, The Moonlight Butterfly: Chicago nerds do this content, melancholy jangle thing really well, and it never ever gets old. Here, they shift that perfect formula enough (the title track is some Raymond Scott-meets-Moroder ish, “Inn Keeping” is a 10 minute epic) to make this EP’s brevity at least well, acceptable.
- Beastie Boys, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2: Most Beastie albums are spotty, making this squonking funk freak-out their third best, after Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head. And it’s fun! Remember fun? Yeah, I don’t either but when I listen to this I pretend I do. And then you realize they made something this fun while Yauch had cancer. Damn.
- ***BONUS REISSUE PICK*** Orange Goblin, 5 CD Box Set: Mid-90s UK stoner metal legends that get left out of the grimy sludgy doomy history books because most dolts prefer stuff that works too hard to be genuinely heavy. The Big Black is perfect. The rest of them ain’t too shabby either. Awesomely unnecessary. Thank you Metal Blade.
April Picks.
- Holy Ghost!, Self-Titled: Swaggers like The Warriors OST, bounces like a Larry Levan remix, emotes like a New Order album. This record is basically ten excellent 12-inches. Or try to imagine an LP of only stuff like “Perfect Kiss.” JAM FOR JERRY!
- DJ Quik, Book Of David: Alternates between grown-up relationship rap, and grown-up vitriol lobbed at all the enemies that anybody who is interesting, serious, and on this planet for 40-plus years tends to pick up. Gorgeous, inspired beats.
- Ponytail, Do Whatever You Want All The Time: Gives off the same feeling as some monolithic freak-prog classic of the past. Also new musical nooks and crannies: Siegel squawks existential questions. Seeno/Wong explore dub and komische. Their best yet.
- J Rocc, Some Cold Rock Stuf: Turntablism’s officially dead. Not much beat-juggling or record-cutting cleverness here, just brilliant, woozy, sample-based compositions. And “Party,” a monstrous lost Armand Van Helden-like jam. Perfectly sequenced.
- DJ Pierre, ThEEEE MiXtApEEEE: Baltimore club boundary-pusher (and M.I.A. and Nguzunguzu remixer) releases a mix his own productions, surrounding frenetic dance with Kraftwerk electronics, fractured pop, and quasi-Witchhouse? A possible game-changer.
March Picks.
Weird month for hip-hop. Awesome month for fusion.
- No Gang Colors, Honorary Cop: 6 and a half minutes of death rap-informed, black metal screeching. What Salem thought they were doing. What all you bleeding edge Tumbrlin’ fuckboys should be repping. Special guest appearance by Terry Gross!
- Clams Casino, Instrumental Mixtape: Lil B’s buddy does the best post-glitch record in a while and the first makes-you-wanna-cry instrumental hip-hop since, Donuts. Appropriately, Clammy Clams cares little for either sub-genre. My interview here.
- Rittz, White Jesus: When he complains about mexicans talking shit about him in spanish. When he raps about how his job makes him want to shoot himself. When he makes fun of his ex’s new boyfriend’s sandals. The opposite of smarmy, frat-rap.
- Wiz Khalifa, Rolling Papers: Pilot Talk gone pop. A bizarre, confusing, frustrating but ultimately addictive listen. Probably helps if you have nothing invested in Wiz like me. Dedicated fans shouldn’t be disappointed though. Really good!
- The Weeknd, House Of Balloons: Anybody listening is already a fan of Drake so dead the “fake” talk. Makes the liquor-fueled, date-rape-ish, aspects of modern r&b really clear. Just as self-aware and experimental as The-Dream, but a little meaner.
February Picks.
- Patrick Stump, Truant Wave: Fall Out Boy mastermind does an experimental r&b, concept EP. “Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)” might make you cry. On “Cute Girls,” Stump gracefully moves from an MJ impression to a brazen Prince swipe. Perfect.
- Stalley, Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music): Stalley’s the first actually engaging, conventionally “lyrical” rapper in quite some time. Is there a single #hashtag rap on this thing? Boring at first, then, slowly but surely all you wanna listen to.
- Hercules & Love Affair, Blue Songs: Queerer, blacker, and better than their debut. House LPs are supposed to be varied and moody, not front-to-back floor-fillers, alright? Do you also find Inner City’s Paradise inconsistent?! More about it here.
- Mama’s Mustache, Next Level: Picks up where Sleepy Brown’s Mr. Brown left off. Imagine if Lil Will’s Better Days had actually gotten to stores and was some kind of game-changer. Fun, edifying, and completely ignored. Come on guys!
- Mullyman, Mullyman Vs. The Machine: Mullyman blacks out on for an hour straight, Sonic the Hedgehogging his way through futuristic soul from producers DJ Booman and MBAHlievable, and even attacking G Dep’s “Special Delivery.” More about it here.
- ***BONUS REISSUE PICK*** Nate Dogg, G-Funk Classics: Dr. Dre’s comeback features Skylar Grey and Akon. Meanwhile, Nate Dogg’s recovering from two strokes. Bet you didn’t even know Thump Records reissued Nate’s own little headphone masterpiece, did you?
January Picks.
A little late. Here are my favorites from last month. What’d I miss?
- G-Side, The One…Cohesive: A rap album actually “bigger than hip-hop.” I mean, what sounds like this? It does all the things rap should do, but it does a lot more too. Review here.
- Tabi Bonney, Postcard From Abroad: A chick named Smiles Davis slices up MOR indie for overrated, underrated, bugged-out actually #BASED DC rapper, Bonney. Share his world of “bicep curls and beautiful girls.”
- James Nasty, The Truth About James Nasty: A hyper-concentrated dose of frantic, rubbery, dance. “I Got Sunshine” might just bring tears to your eyes. How often does club music do that? Review here.
- Blaqstarr, Divine EP: Once you tire of James Blake’s Clapton-y coffee-shop dubstep, get lost in Blaq’s parochial singer-songwriter Baltimore club. Review here.
- DB Tha General, Young O.G 2: More than a whole CD-R’s worth of worldly-wise raps and spazzy 80s beats that slap. The anti-BLVCK Diamond Life.
