A$AP still thrives too much of mundanity to be considered a true Hip Hop star Ever since his rise to acclaimed assertion via his 2011
mixtape “LiveLoveA$AP”, A$AP Rocky has been the most prevalent catalyst for the
argument that lyrics in Hip Hop aren’t anywhere near as important as they once
were. There’s proof via the rise in popularity of Trap music too that the whole
Hip Hop genre revolves much more around sound and bass than rhyme schemes now. There
are not many people, genuine and casual Hip Hop fans alike (or indeed, not Hip
Hop fans at all) who would dispute that A$AP Rocky is a mediocre rapper, but in
the developing throes of what will surely become his empire, it hardly matters.
Ultimately, your enjoyment of A$AP Rocky depends on your willingness to adapt with the times musically.
“Long. Live. A$AP”, his debut full- length proper, sees
Rocky branch out production wise (the mixtape was single- handedly produced by
rising sonic voyager Clams Casino) and that is in many cases, the strongest thing
that this album has going for it. The first noticeable thing is the increasing of variety, but
also on a lyrical level Rocky has stepped up his game somewhat. There are
flashes of genuine brilliance here concerning other things than his banal trademark
quips about money, women and drugs. On the eerie, distant opening title track
he raps “Strangers make me nervous/ who’s that peeping through my window with a
pistol on my curtains?”. On “Goldie” a beautifully twinkling and atmospheric
beat rattles throughout, whilst lyrically the song is half a defiant middle
finger to the haters (“Niggas talking shit until they get lockjaw”) and half
about how much money he’s got (“Call me Billy Gates I got a crib in every State”)
and it’s rather enchanting. Production wise the beat on the otherwise mundane “PMW (All
that I need)” is gorgeous, and Clams Casino returns to the fold on “LVL”
providing a hazy, reflective and glitchy fade- out soundscape. But it’s not all as pretty, and rather expectedly, Rocky
sounds unimaginative and lethargic more than he does seriously talented. The
production on “Hell” is like a turned down glacial Crystal Castles slow burner
and is painfully boring, Santigold providing a passionless hook in the chorus.
Skrillex’s whooping production on “Wild for the Night” is obnoxious. There are lyrical moments on here that if they don’t have
you shouting “ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?!” at the stereo then you must be one of
A$AP’s crew. One such ridiculous specimen is “Fucking Problems.” “I love bear
bitches that’s my fucking problem, yeah I like to fuck I got a fucking problem”
goes the hook. Even more peevishly A$AP drops the line “They say money make a
nigga act nigga- ish, but at least money make a nigga nigga rich.” If it’s
meant to be a joke then it simply isn’t funny. In the same vein, the hook on “Fashion
Killa” protrudes thusly: “She a fashion killa, and I’m a trendy nigga,”
followed on by that most childish of opening gambits, “Rockin’, rollin’,
swaggin’ to the max.” Sorry, WHAT?! What’s most alienating about A$AP Rocky is that, even if he
isn’t a particularly potent MC, tracks like the suicidal “Phoenix” and even the
tortoise- paced closer “Suddenly” have serious defensive morals that are worth
promoting. The production is, at times, absolutely stellar, and even A$AP’s
flow is sharper and more appealing than the monotony of previous projects.
However any real talent is often substituted for juvenile fooling and an arm
stretched for the mainstream. It’s still early days in A$AP’s career, despite
the lightning fast rise to fame, but the trajectory needs to change if he is
order to prove himself to anything other than the casual Hip Hop listener.
Artist: Cult of Luna
Album: Vertikal
Record label: Indie Recordings
An epic and dense vision of futuristic dissolution from Swedish metallers The future is an undeniably
frightening concept for any individual, even on the most base of levels. When
coupled with the fear of a world so far elapsed into the fire and smoke of the
ever present growth and expansion of industrialisation, it can seem an
endlessly bleak notion. Swedish post- metallers Cult of Luna (no newcomers to
the idea of darkness themselves) could have worked this out for themselves, but
in the case of their 6th album “Vertikal”, it was Fritz Lang’s 1927
film “Metropolis” that spurred them on the path to record a concept album
revolving around “machinery, repetition and clear, linear structures.”
Not that said inspiration had any
detrimental effect on “Vertikal.” This album is a sprawling, heavily built and
sometimes nightmarish vision of descent into a grey, mechanical future, best
summed up the impressive array of styles on the 19- minute “Vicarious
Redemption.” Its ritualistic 5 minute intro reeks of horror movie intensity.
There’s even a wobbling dubstep- tinged excursion 11 minutes in, and the sad,
clear cut beauty of the final 7 minutes is moving. Things get even darker on the
motoric, guttural grind of “Synchronicity” showing that the band can operate
thrilling results on a ground level. Things soar back up again on penultimate
track “In Awe of”, which sees rushes of soaring synths and dense riffage reach
an epic pinnacle.
There are times, like on “I, the
Weapon” where the band fails to reach the amount of impact they attempt, but
for the most part “Vertikal” is a demolishing beast that is as
determined in its path as the oncoming mechanical storm it seems to fear. A
contradiction in terms perhaps, but one that upon listening to the album makes
complete sense. Key Tracks: Vicarious Redemption, In Awe of, Synchronicity For Fans of: Neurosis, Isis, Opeth 7/10
Artist: Villagers
Album: [Awayland}
Record Label: Domino
Conor O' Brien's folky voyagers improve, exapnd, and create something of a beauitful if cynical journey
Conor O’ Brien and his band Villagers have a somewhat
undiscovered knack for hinting and the stylistic trajectory of their albums via
the titles they give them. For example, the Irish quintet’s 2010 debut
“Becoming a Jackal” was exactly the kind of lyrically ragged and intoxicating
but subtle set of songs such a title would suggest. It makes sense right from
the off then that “[Awayland}”, by contrast, sees the band indulge in a much
more expansive, immersive and mountainous sound. That title,”[Awayland}” not
only suggests detachment due to the arrangement of syntax, but more than
anything suggests that this will be a dreamy, illustrious lift off to another
place.
That’s
mostly exactly that’s what it is. Endorsing much more the full- band kind of
sentiment and sound, “{Awayland}” is rich in layered, sometimes eye- wateringly
moving orchestral sections and electrifying pulses. Opener “My Lighthouse”
starts things off on a profusely mellow note, close in flavour to the sound of
their debut with its structured, fluttering harmonies and pensive acoustic
picking. The
seismic shock kicks in straight away afterwards though with the arrival of
“Earthly Pleasure.” A shuffling, robust beat is accompanied by an off- kilter
funky bass line and soaring strings. It’s the first sign that O’ Brien has
expanded his lyrical game too. He always had a sharp tongue for the bleak, but
here he takes a leaf straight of Nick Cave’s songbook, conjuring up a surreal,
twisted narrative about a child a mysterious lady in a half spoken delivery as
he mutters breathily “so there he was in front of her divine simplicity, she
was speaking Esperanto and drinking ginger tea.”
On
“Judgement Call” a fusion of bleepery, xylophones and a darkly beautiful bass
line and guitar melody spring forth in an intelligently venomous assault on
Religious piety (“I don’t need no proof… We gotta get the kids before they
grow”). The
album highlight is the kaleidoscopic “Nothing Arrived”, full to the brim with a
subtly driving drum beat and an upbeat if slightly melancholic piano melody
fizzing high above the rest of the mix, as O’ Brien wallows in a loss of hope
as he sings “I waited for something, but something died/ So I waited for
nothing, and nothing arrived.”
Towards the end, O’ Brien finds a balance between the
previously dominating pessimism and hope in “In a New Found Land you are free”
as he reasons “In a new found land comes new found grief, but in a New found
Land you are free.” At this point we’re still two songs away from the end of
the record, but it’s ultimately the taste of this sentiment that O’ Brien and
Villages want to leave on our tongues. Surrounded by continuously moving
soundscapes and a wonderfully realistic world view, it’s summed up brilliantly
by “[Awayland}”, which in its own right, is a majestic beast.
Key Tracks: Nothing Arrived, In a New Found Land you are Free, Earthly Pleasure
For Fans of: Stornoway, Grizzly Bear, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Artist: L. Pierre
Album: The Island Come True
Record Label: Melodic
Aidan Moffat takes us on an endlessly tantalizing and emotional journey on his latest Lucky Pierre project
As artists like Brian Eno and Oneohtrix Point Never have proven
upon countless releases that there is a huge case of faith required when
conducting ambient music. Not only does the innovator have to have a huge
amount of faith that the listener will be strung along, but the listener has to
exert the same sort of faith in believing that there is emotional value and
depth in what they’re listening to. Ultimately, its music that is either going
to inspire you or leave you by the wayside entirely.
Aidan John Moffat is a figure of cultish legend. He’s
arguably more renowned for his word play and lyrics than musical ability, but
since the demise of his group Arab Strap he’s proven via solo projects (three
previously under the guise of Lucky Pierre) and various collaborations that he
is musically sensitive and knowledgeable to a remarkable extent. The entirely
instrumental “The Island Come True” is particularly special, because the unacquainted
ear will find examples of that musical sensitivity in abundance here.
“The Island Come True” is a chopped and screwed record
comprising entirely of samples, loops and field recordings compiled by Moffat. “Well,
anyone can lunge together a few old records and say it’s art”, you might be
thinking. But it takes a well- seasoned ear and hand to put something together
as chimerical as this. Moffat says of the album that he “hopes it takes the
listener on a wee bit of a journey.” There we strike upon another aspect as to
why this album is so special; it’s entirely up to the listener to interpret it
as they will.
Featuring samples of old 1920s jazz vinyls, even older
classical pieces and strangely hypnotic cuts from films, “The Island Come True”’s
roots grow much deeper than can be anticipated upon first listen. Every sound,
every melody is so full and engulfing that the emotion present in these tracks
is almost impossible to contain. The crackle and hiss of the vinyl deck hums
all over the album, giving them an exceeding sense of history and that homemade
feeling.
The
overall tone of the album, to this listener’s ears at least, is melancholy.
Opener “Kab 1340” hits with an ominous wall of synth and cacophonous clanging of
bells and guitars before pilfering out via a rich string section. It’s a
coastal night time storm and the following serenity of the morning before
anyone notices that anything’s damaged. “Harmonic Avenger”, with its doom-
laden piano melodies and woeful accordion and violin excursions is sitting
alone in a dark room with no furniture, drowning your sorrows in a bottle of
whisky. “The Grief that Does not Speak” (a line appropriately lifted from a
speech in Macbeth) is a moment of terrible realisation, irreversible tragedy. “Dr.
Alucard” is a sleazy late night party in 13th century Jerusalem.
“The Island Come True” is a narrative, prompted by Moffat
but created by the listener. One late evening this week, after everybody else
has gone to bed, grab a bottle of wine, close your eyes and let it engulf you.
Alone is the context in which it makes most sense, and which it’ll be most
appreciated.
Key Tracks: Harmonic Avenger, Exits, Kab 1340
For fans of: Pre- 1960s media, Brian Eno, Nils Frahm
Artist: Christopher Owens
Album: Lysandre
Record Label: Turnstile
Simple, sweet and fun, Christopher Owens' pop classicism becomes a musically illustrious narrative on his debut
There were telling signs that at some point in his career
Christopher Owens would indulge in a solo project. San Francisco slack poppers
Girls’ were always his baby in terms of the song writing impetus, and his
overwhelmingly heartfelt and sensitive ruminations on love were straight out of
a budding poet’s handbook.
“Lysandre”, his debut solo album, is not worlds away from
Owens’ former work in Girls. In that band he carved out a distinctive niche as
one of the most prolific modern writers reverting to old- school pop song craft,
and on “Lysandre” he pushes those tendencies as far as they can go, to the
point that they are almost always inescapably cheesy. However, the record is
still eccentric, short and sweet, and like all of Girls’ work, follows a
touching and heart reaching narrative.
“Lysandre” follows the tale of a girl of the same name who
Owens had a brief affair with when Girls visited France on their first tour
together. “Here We Go” is full of lushous acoustic arpeggios and Owens’ blatant
hints at what’s in store as he coos “If your heart is broken, you will find
fellowship with me.” Similarly blissed out moment “A Broken Heart” is lovelorn,
supposedly from the point of view of his band members, as Owens venomously
writes “I wish it had never happened, ‘cause all you cared about was that girl.”
“Everywhere You Knew” is a sleepy, romantically beautiful ditty full of classic
Owens’ romanticisms like “we lay in the park until the same came up.”
“Lysandre” certainly can’t be considered original or
revolutionary. Owens’ code of conduct that he has written for himself when it
comes to the art of pop song writing seems to be rigid. However, “Lysandre” is
littered with charmingly simple prose and often gorgeously expansive
orchestration and is firm ground for Owens’ no doubt ambitious if simply
charming vision.
Key Tracks: Lysandre, Everywhere You Knew, Part of Me (Lysandre's Epilogue)
Artist: Everything Everything
Album: Arc
Record Label: Sony
The Manchester quartet's bleak outlook on the future of the human race is sometimes beautiful, but sometimes too unfocused to be memorable
The problem with creativity, or the attempt to be creative,
is that it inadvertedly gets linked hand in hand with pretension. This was an
issue that Manchester art- poppers Everything Everything experienced within the
criticism of their 2010 debut “Man Alive.” So exhausting were their bunny
hopping genre antics and undecipherable lyrical prose that the critical
backlash heavily featured the line that they seemed to be trying a little bit
too hard.
“Arc” sees Everything Everything start to find their own
niche to a certain extent. They’ve still got those central aspects that their
debut utilized in abundance; intricate guitar lines, ever- evolving and rolling
drum patterns and gorgeous harmonies. It’s safe to say though that on “Arc” it
sounds like the band have found better grounding for their creative juices, a
more accessible platform within which all their ideas sound more at home, even
if at some points it still feels like the band are trying to fit too many ideas
into a 3 minute song.
With a much more viable lyrical concept running throughout,
the overall tone of “Arc” is incredibly bleak. It deals with the supposedly
doomed future of the human race, and its chief sentiment is that said doom is
irreversible and terrifying. Opener “Cough Cough” marries demonic, tribal drum
patterns with heavenly harmonies and post- rock spaciousness in the chorus, a
testimony to the band finding a way to make their ideas work musically. “Kemosabe”
is a gorgeous electro ballad in which frontman Jonathan Higgs makes the
assertion that “it doesn’t matter if everyone dies” before sounding genuinely
lonely as he wails in his soaring falsetto “I am alone” in the chorus.
On the glistening riffage and bleepery of “Radiant” the unnamed
doom of our time is upon us, as Higgs urges us “Go, leave your homes/ take
whatever you can/ it’s coming towards you.” The stunning “The Peaks” is effective
in its cause to move and act almost as a moment of realisation. “I’ve seen more
villages burn than animals born/ I’ve seen more towers come down than children
grow old” coos Higgs with an air of fragility and a frightening bleak outlook
on what’s to come.
However, there are still signs here that the band are not
completely devoid of their overwhelming ADHD tendencies. “Torso of the Week” comes
closest to the whimsy of their debut, as it opens up on the line “Girl you’ve
been hitting that treadmill like a freak” before embarking on a bridge and
chorus that are completely at odds with the verse musically. “Choice Mountain”
sounds equally as dysfunctional with its fusion of Wild Beasts- esque tight-
knit riffing and clangy chords. The case with slow- burner “The House is Dust”
is just that it fails to be interesting.
The ideas are definitely still in abundance on “Arc”, and
when they find strong footing and resound together it results in gorgeously
anthemic and moving results. However, the poorer moments here are just so
disjointed that they simply don’t work, or don’t maintain the interest that the
most profound moments on here do. Everything Everything have the capacity to
make a potentially incredible album. They just need to realise that the most
impacting records aren’t always the most intelligent.
Brilliant young Danish punks Iceage have released "Coalition", the first song to appear from their upcoming second album "You're Nothing," which is due to be released on February 19th. "Coalition" sees the band sounding cleaner and more controlled than any of the moments on their fantastic 2011 debut (which was one of my favourite records of that year). However, this has in no way diluted Elias Bender's snarling, snotty delivery, or the band's penchant for writing vicious, thrilling and deliriously catchy punk tunes.
Producer Gensu Dean and rapper Planet Asia have joined forces to release a single by the title of "Faces on the Dollar", which will appear on a collaborative album titled "Abrasions." Production wise the song is a near masterpiece. A spacey, slightly squelchy and reflective synth flutter forms the main part of a melody as a profound and memorable bass line and clicking beat drive it forward. Planet Asia's lyrical ruminations deal with having what he never had growing up- money, and enjoying it, whilst realising what a hardship gaining money can be.
The final track of this New Sounds edition comes from Sielunvihollinen, and elusive Finnish Black Metal group who have just dropped this incredibly raw and fuzzy demo. It's not exactly drenched in virtuosity, but it's how old- school Black Metal should be done, and has an epically melodic lead guitar line bringing to mind the soaring qualities of bands like Agalloch.
At 5am this morning, the Deity that is David Bowie released the first single to be taken from his new album "The Next Day" (due out 12th March) called "Where are we now?" to celebrate his 66th Birthday. The song traverses along a slow, quietly grandiose trajectory through lushous piano chords, '80s synths and a shimmering guitar line towards the end, and Bowie rounding off the song lyrically by asserting a sense of positivity as he sings "As long as there's me... As long as there's you."
It's perhaps not as profound as would have been preferred, but it is still quite lovely. And of course, Bowie albums are famously wrapped in diversity, so maybe there'll be some more kicking tracks on "The Next Day." Nevertheless, this is worth a listen, as is anything the man puts out.
Last week, the signs of Britpop icons Suede's return to the public musical sphere were made even more tantalizing by the publication of a cryptic letter online by front man Brett Anderson. Whether the letter contained lyrics or was just typical Anderson metaphors, we don't know. However, they upped the chase once again yesterday by posting a free download of the first song to be unveiled from the new record, which is called "Bloodsports" and is due to be released in March.
The said song, "Barriers" is undeniably Suede in mannerism and fashion. It's lead forward by glistening, clear- cutting guitar lines, enormous walls of synth Euphoria, a rolling rhythm section and Anderson's heart rendering romanticism. It's a better comeback song than most were probably expecting, and if it's anything to go by then "Bloodsports" will be a mighty beautiful release.
You can grab the song as a free download from the band's website, linked below.
Artist: A$AP Rocky
