No, this has nothing to do with Ducktales the cartoon show. Instead of a rich duck with rambunctious nephew-ducks, Ducktails a man named Matthew Mondanile with a lovely knack for guitar. Ducktails originally got some attention for this album because Panda Bear featured on it, and the blogosphere loves to suckle on anything attached to PB- but this album certainly stands without Panda Bear. Mondanile makes me feel like I'm chilling on the porch with a bunch of friends - and the resident guitar virtuoso is casually strumming out original, yet familiar feeling tunes that we can all vibe too. Normally when someone is playing guitar at a chill-sesh, I want nothing more than for them to stop and put on some real music. Ducktails lets me know what it would be like to not feel that way. It is a little lo-fi, and very homey.
Unlike Little Window, most of the tracks are not purely instrumental. This song does capture a lot of what I like about Ducktails though, and that is... well... the guitar. I like the guitar.
Every part of this song gets stuck in my head way too easily.
Interesting Info -
Matthew is also in a band called Real Estate - who should be dropping an album soon. Should be pretty good - the previewed tracks from it are beautiful.
This is an electronic album. At heart. Every other track seems to have vocals on it, usually rapping - enough to show off ill.Gates' large hip-hop influence. But even on those tracks, the focus is the superb beats - the rapping usually contributing only sonically. I mean, the raps are okay - but their best purpose is really just breaking the monotony of a full-electronic album, and they serve their purpose well. This album has some bangers - and if you want to go hard, this album would love to join you. If you like dubstep in the old-school sense (I'm not talking build-ups and drops), OR if you like dubstep in the brostep stance (I'm talking build-ups and drops), the ill.Methodology has something great for you. It is actually a pretty diverse album despite it's seemingly consistent style. That being said - it is too long. 18 Tracks - and it could definitely do without *a lot* of them. Mostly the brostep ones.
The best tracks remain the purely electronic tracks. They are just much closer to perfection in what Gates is trying to make - and while the vocalized tracks can be more interesting, they often just don't have the best vocals on them. You can stream parts of each track from here. Not all of it, but more than iTunes would let you. None of it is on YouTube or the like.
Standout Track(s) - Otoro
Great track as far as the beat goes. Probably my favorite from the album.
Crystal Math
Purely instrumental - I wish the full track was on here, because I really like how it goes. Anyway... first track, what made me keep listening.
Interesting Info -
The most brosteppy song, Eviction, turns a recorded message from a neighbor ripping ill.Gates apart for his loud music into an extremely hard-hitting track. I can only imagine him turning it up to 11 to play this song in response to the complaints.
Where Tyler stagnated on Goblin and displayed little personal innovation to his style that is already becoming cliche, Domo improves markedly on his second release in every single facet: flow, lyrics, beats, production... even the album cover is better. This is miles ahead of Rolling Papers. Domo has matured and it shows - smooth classy beats, clever quick-witted verses... as far as style goes, Domo Genesis kills it. He finds a way to maintain Odd Future's humorous trademark while having a tone that is less gimmicky and more mature. Until Earl comes back, Domo, to me, is the most exciting Wolf Gang member. Seriously, if you haven't given the "lesser known" members of OFWGKTA a look, check this out. Standout Track(s) - Guess Who's Back
The original mixtape that I downloaded didn't list the features on each track -- when I realized that it was Cassie Veggies on this track, I was shocked. I'd listened to a few of his songs, stopping them way before they were over, and didn't like him at all... but I love this guest spot - he starts off fresh from his first verse, and he keeps his charisma at a peak in spite of (or maybe supported by) his ridiculous voice. Going to check more of his stuff out now...
I'm a little thrown off by his fabricated descriptions of how good his weed is... Really Domo? Seeing colors in tie-dye? I guess that really is some goku shit. Whatever - lovely song. I still dig it.
Interesting Info -
Odd Future is headlining Sunday of Fun Fun Fun Fest here in Austin. I recommend you be there.
So this girl won an award for best folk singer in 2010 - and though I'm not easily attracted to folk music, I can definitely see why. Maybe it is because I think she's cute as hell. More likely, it's because she has such a... I can't think clever and engaging style. Her lyrics tell real stories while often being adorably surreal. She just has clever word play that makes her fun to listen to. But the real thing making me stay is that she has some of the most raw and affected vocals that I have ever heard. Seriously... If you pay full attention to Taxidermist, Taxidermist below... It is heart-breaking even if you never catch the actual lyrics. The album title of mammoth swoons really captures what she does sometimes.
This is the kind of folk I can dig. Catchy melodies at times, occasionally intentionally broken up just to make you aware you are listening. She never lets you just get lost in the melody. She always makes you listen, and that is okay because she has vocals and lyrics that are unique and enticing... She can play guitar quite well too... I don't know - give it a listen. I reccommend it.
Taxidermist, Taxidermist... what can I say -- if you can give the full 8 minutes of the song your full attention (which I realize, may be difficult - it is one long song) and you do *not* feel chills when she sings "we shall be enraptured" at the end, then you probably do not have a soul. It starts off a bit slower before transitioning into the good bits. Trust me that it's not like this the entire song. At one point she says, "... oh I am intense" - and you bet it Lady Lamb. You god damn bet it.
Interesting Info -
One of the artists I talked about earlier on in my blog (Alias)actually sampled her for one of his songs, and the only reason I know is because when I searched "lady lamb" in my iTunes to check out the album, his song "Lady Lambin'" came up. Definitely samples her... cool stuff. But that's not the real interesting info, the real interesting info is that she is only 20 (maybe 21 now) years old, and that that is great because someday I am going to marry her. Just an FYI.
Big K.R.I.T. comes off older than he is on this tape - often seeing himself as a mentor for younger rapstars - but I guess 25 is pretty old these days. The mixtape has high production - heavy bass on some tracks begging you to bump krit while you ride, and some tracks that just sound plain beautiful. It is never ring-tone rap, but he interchanges dirty south music fit for the radio with slower ballads that often end up being the highlights of the album. Sometimes he raps about the usual -- how he’s made it, fuck the haters, how bumpin’ his sub is when he rides... sometimes he talks about heavier stuff such as unneccessary black on black violence, or friends that he’s recently lost. He may be cliché at times, in fact, he is cliché most of the time -- but he is honest about who he is, never seems fake, and at times he can be quite compelling. And when he is - damn does he sound smooth.
I haven’t listened to any other Krit mixtapes - which I regret, because I wish I could better contextualize this tape. But at the very least, it lets you know that I’m not just fanboying when I say this is my favorite mixtape released this year.
Song is all in the title. K.R.I.T.'s deepest and probably best song on the album, and it's enticing all the way through -- starting with a sample from a Spike Lee movie blending smoothly into the delicious instrumentals behind K.R.I.T's voice. Reminds me of Wale's The Kramer, not as poignant, better beat.
The best guest spots on the mixtape are on a remix of a previous K.R.I.T. track - Country Shit. Ludacris and Bun B come on for the remix. I love me some Luda.
I was at a wedding party this weekend with a bunch of Londoners, and had mixed feelings as they showed the Americans some “old-school garage” (which, in their accent, was pronounced “gairidge”). I like UK Garage - I remember listening similar it in early high school. It was bittersweet to hear my sister (who back in those days was telling me to turn down my stoner music) say, "ooh, this stuff is cool - how do you dance to it?"
Alias - Fever Dream (2011)
A lot of electronic can begin to sound stale rather quickly, however, because many genres have such a uniform and distinctive sound. I can't stand trance for this reason - house is better, but still a victim... and house's little brother garage once again improves. It's this staleness, however, that makes more experimental or hip-hop based electronic musicians seem so interesting in comparison.
Enter Alias, a hip-hop/electronic artist on the anticon. label (who house talented acts such as Why? and Odd Nosdam), who released a purely instrumental album at the end of this August. Fever Dreams hits hard, has remarkable beats, and makes you want to visit a grimy club to be moved by the music with other influenced college kids. Or maybe it just makes you want to put on head-phones so you can blast this music as you strut though campus. Either way, this music sounds fresh, and unlike the more predictable "genres" of electronic, you won't be bored of it before you even put it on.
Standout Track(s) - Tagine (unfortunately, only the first part of it. Check it, though)
The only commentary I want to give on both of these tracks is to play them loud - and on as high of a quality as your internet will allow.
Interesting Note(s) -
Though Alias debut'd back in 2001 by rapping, he has been making purely instrumental music for awhile. He hasn't made an album on anticon. in three years - but his hiatus has obviously done him well.
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World (2007)
Whenever I'm having a bad day, I put this album on, listen all the way through, and then I am no longer having a bad day. Happy, delirious, and depressed folk/punk that I think everyone should hear at least once.
Favorite Tracks:
Personal Space Invader (Side note - this live version, though not the highest quality... makes me oh so happy. Everyone in the building singing along, and you can hear it.)
Yukimi Nagano has one of the smoothest voices there is, and Little Dragon provides the instrumental backing to create an even smoother album. Always chill and at times danceable, Machine Dreams is one of those albums that is great both as background and foreground music.
A lot of people can say, and have said, a lot more about Fly-lo than I can. He has many electronic "classics" before this, and he has a few on this as well. If you haven't already, check it out.
To answer your question, it's pronounced Subtract... I think. Like the Little Dragon album, SBTRKT's debut is smooth. Fittingly, Yukimi Nagano guests on what is probably the best track of the record, not to detract from the rest of the fantastic vocals on the album. Easily one of my favorite releases this year.
Favorite Tracks:
Wildfire Never Never(interestingly, Machine Dreams *also* has a song titled Never Never)
Is anyone not listening to this? Are you still mad about the whole Taylor Swift thing? Maybe you are in Club Breezy and are bitter about Jay-Z refusing to applaud Chris Brown's performance at the VMA's... This album is good. Which shouldn't be a surprise, but it is easy for giants to collaborate and come out with something mediocre. And again, this album is good. There are some definite lows - Who Gon Stop Me is excruciatingly weak, and it's near direct use of Flux Pavillion's I Can't Stop is not justified with the duo's performance. Kanye West still can't stop talking about that South Park episode. We get it Yeezy, you're a gay fish. The Beyonce track (that I've heard is apparently the most popular single) is the most cliche song of the album. Those are my main critiques... Most of the album... it is good.
Coma Cinema put together in Blue Suicide an album that originally caught my attention with only a few songs. Not that I thought that the majority of the fifteen songs were bad - I never felt my customary urge to skip past a track. The songs are short, most clocking in under 3 minutes, and it almost feels like Coma Cinema’s front-man Mat Cothran was trying to stop me from ever feeling the need to hit the next song button. I'm glad he did, because the appeal of my initial favorites were enough to inspire me back to the album a week later. The album grew on me. Now, after countless spins, I am in love with it.
Coma Cinema- Blue Suicide (2011)
Mat doesn’t overstate much. His emotions are often presented ambiguously, and many times he seems to mutter the lyrics in a way that make me almost wonder if he recorded the song in one take. Instead, he relies on the catchy but not poppy melodies that are just strong enough to grab your attention and make you anticipate their arrival again when you come back to re-listen.
The contrast of Mat’s confident voice combined with the mobilizing drums and clapping in the song allow Whatevering to pick me up from whereever previous tracks put me down.
Mat's repetition of “Leave my Head” in the middle of the song croons hauntingly in my mind.
Interesting Note(s) -
This was Coma Cinema’s third album to come out in a 2 album period, though the band has apparently been around since 2005. A fourth album came out this year, shortly after the third, but it doesn’t nearly fit in with the previous other three. In fact, if the short cut style of this album leaves you wanting more, you should definitely check out his first two albums. And if that leaves you wanting more -- you are probably out of luck. Mat announced that the band will be bowing out by the end of this year, and their last album likely won’t “see the light of day.”
Cassette City is an album, not a mixtape -- and as most hip-hop full-length albums do, it costs money. I mention this because I feel like a bit of a hypocrite, because my blog description at the bottom suggests free music will be common in my posts, and I'm starting out with a 0/1 hit-rate. Still, there will likely be few constants in the blog, and I want that to be clear from the beginning. Hopefully this first post will help to establish that.
Lushlife - Cassette City (2009)
So... Cassette City... Old-school hip hop beats comprised heavily of turn-tabled horn sections and screwed-up vocal samples. This isn’t Houston’s chopped and screwed -- but Lush uses the same techniques to mess with the underlying samples and create a musical environment that sounds much more aged than a 2009 release should feel. Combine those beats with a confident and intelligent flow and you get a summer sound that makes me want to find a stoop to post up on and bump his music. The album is designed to be listened to as a whole - not because the songs don’t hold up on their own, but because the songs each line up with the album’s theme in a way that boosts each tracks individual appeal.
Standout Track(s) - Until the Sun Dies - Lush turns late 90’s folk singer Beth Orton into a soulful sample once he chops and screws the track.
Interesting Note(s) - The most notable credit on the album is Ariel Pink. Seeing as Ariel Pink isn’t well-associated with the hip-hop at all, it is a little fascinating to see him as the most well-known “featuring” credit. The song using him is quite good too, check out: In Soft Focus (Feat. Ariel Pink & Elzhi)
