I haven't thrown a single up for a while, so I thought I'd share this new guy I started listening to, Anderson East. He's got that retro soul sound that St. Paul and the Broken Bones have brought back as well - in fact the start of "Satisfy Me" sounds just like "Like a Mighty River":
His raspiness reminds me a bit of Ray LaMontagne and other times he sounds like the male version of Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes.
If you dig any of those bands, I'd say his album is worth a listen. I'm not enamored with it, but "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em and Forget 'Em" is another great track.
Father John Misty released one of my favorite albums this year, one that I lovingly reviewed some months back. He's taken his talents to perform a somber cover of the first track of Arcade Fire's great album, The Suburbs. The cover is a stripped down version of the song, a simple four chords strumming throughout.
I am always inspired when I hear songs so good with so few chords. Ryan Adams is a virtuoso at this, and I was shocked to realize that this original song, amongst the guitars, pianos, and strings, breaks down to just four chords. As you watch FJM play, notice how he progresses chords four times and repeats the process pretty much throughout the whole song. Simplicity wins while the darkness of the lyrics sing.
Comparisons to Lauryn Hill are inevitable, but when you have a voice like this, we should all just sit back and enjoy its beauty. There is life in New York.
Albert Hammond, Jr., the guitarist of the notorious The Strokes, is set to release his third solo album. I LOVED his first album, Yours to Keep, for its simplicity and Hammond's vocals that were unproduced and raw. The best and most catchy (and probably most Strokes-y) song on the album was "In Transit."
But a track that still stands put to me is the Beatles-esque "Blue Skies," where Hammond, his acoustic guitar, a xylophone, and a slow beat create a sweet love song.
AHJ just released his first single, "Born Slippy," which I immediately took to. What I love in an artist is when he/she is able to take the best pieces of prior albums and build upon them to make even better tracks. This is one of those and might be the best track he's written!
His new album, Momentary Masters, is out July 31!
Wow wow wow what a trippy instrumental! I stumbled upon these guys last night and could not take my headphones off. The album, Moonlust, which I'm sure to post more songs in the future, is really psychadelic but in a controlled way. I have to say I'm completely shocked that a band into psychedelic instrumentation is named Holydrug Couple. They definitely weren't on drugs while making this album. The band is from Chile, and it sounds like DIY bedroom recordings in the early veins of Tame Impala and Washed Out. I'm stunned at the sounds. Check it out!
Admittedly, I don't know The Chemical Brothers very well, but they just released a new track to their upcoming album, Born in the Echoes, out July 17th. It's a pulse pounding, futuristic sounding rager that makes me feel like I'm seconds from crashing while driving one of those cars from Tron. The song never slows down, and Q-Tip (of the immortal A Tribe Called Quest) reminds us that he can do no wrong.
If you're the visual type, here's the music video directed by Michael Gondry - the director from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
The Staves, three sisters from England, recently released their second album, If I Was, a lush and folky rush of harmonies that (similar to their album cover) make me picture frosted cabins in the countryside. They're a mix between Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes (the two best bands in this type of genre), and it's no coincidence that Justin Vernon (the mastermind of Bon Iver) produced this gorgeous album.
If you haven't heard, the legendary trio De La Soul opened up a Kickstarter to make a new album. The album will feature collaborations with Little Dragon (!), David Byrne, 2 Chainz, and Damon Albarn (of Blur and the Gorillaz), and possibly more! Their last album was over a decade ago, so needless to say this will be quite anticipated for all hip-hop fanatics of new and yore.
De La Soul turned to kickstarter (in their words) "to help pay for recording, mixing, marketing, and everything else. Your support will keep us in the studio, help us continue to sample and manipulate the music we’ve recorded, will help us get additional production work done; and will help us design, package, market, and distribute the album. The whole thing. We literally cannot do it without you."
They asked for $110,000 and they've gotten a total $514,000 from almost 10,000 people! Amazing.
They've been getting fans excited with some releases, including this jam featuring Nas (who refuses to age or fade and is still killing it) providing the hook. This track will not be on the album, but for all of us waiting in eager anticipation for it to drop, this will certainly quench our thirst.
There are certain songs so vulnerable and fragile that listening almost feels like trespassing upon a person's soul. "Fourth of July" by Sufjan Stevens is simply one of the most painstakingly heartfelt songs I've heard in quite some time.
The song is about the death of his mother, a woman who deserted him as a child as she was wrapped in addiction. But his love remains. It's a back and forth as Stevens speaks posthumously with his mother...
Well, I came to the city
I was running from the past
My heart was bleeding
And it hurt my bones to laugh
Stayed in the city
No exception to the rules, to the rule
He was born to love me
I was raised to be his fool, his fool
Walk that line, torn apart
Spend your whole life trying
Ride that train, free your heart
It's midnight up in Harlem
I find this really hard to say, but I think this is the best track Tame Impala has written. The intertwining of parts as each fades in and out seamlessly, the use of subtle loops (around the 3:25 mark) which leads into one prolonged loop which then leads into a powerful orchestrated string section, the song keeps swimming into other rhythms. I just can't get over the intricacy and depth of this song. This track HAS to be heard with headphones on.
If this is the best track on Tame Impala's new album (release date this year but unknown!), I'll still be a happy camper, but I have this great feeling that the album is going to be a real classic, Tame Impala's best. Fingers crossed!
Drug Cabin's debut full-length album, Yard Work, is a walk down memory lane for me. The Los Angeles band's vibe and sound reminds me of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, a laid back and retro sound that's paced well with a full listen only costing you 26 minutes. This is the type of album I picture putting on as I sit on a deck somewhere overlooking the beach (or at least that's my favorite way to listen to Sky Blue Sky).
Sapphire is my favorite track on this album. So if you like this track, give the rest of the album a good listen!
Beautiful slow jam from the silky-smooth voiced Lapsley. There's not a ton of info out there on her, but her EP Understudy was released in January 2015 and includes this gem.
Will Butler, NOT to be confused with Win Butler, yet still confusing as they look similar, have similar voices and sounds, play in the same band, and are brothers. But besides all that jazz, Will Butler just released his debut solo album, Policy (which is absolutely worth a full listen), and this is one of my favorite tracks on it.
It's got a bit of an 80s vibe (the start of the song totally reminds me of Devo) and it has that trademark Arcade Fire sound where so many sounds culminate into controlled hysteria then come back to reality. The piano that comes in at 1:29 and a couple times thereafter makes the song, and yeah, the horns kick ass too!
So it took me a little while to figure out whether Drake's latest release was a mixtape or an album? Word on the interwebs is that it's a mixtape that was released more or less like an album so Drake's record contract with Cash Money would expire. Either way, the mixtape is a slow burner with mostly subdued and passive beats that Drake rides along at a leisurely pace. "Know Yourself" initially starts out like a bedroom soliloquy then transitions to a drop that is instantaneously memorable. At first I thought it was hilarious that Drake was talking about his "woes," but apparently it means his crew and stands for "works of excellence." Whatever. I liked it more when I pictured Drake running through the streets of Toronto with a hangdog expression.
Leon Bridges has cornered the market for that old soul sound reminiscent of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and the like. This track takes you back to those days and gives me a sense of calm and simplicity. Bridges is gaining some recognition as I just saw his song "Lisa Sawyer" as one of NPR's favorite current tracks. He only has a few songs out, but I imagine an album is right around the corner!
Such a catchy jam. 21 years after Wu-Tang's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Ghostface is still killing it. If you like this track, definitely check out the whole album.
There's not a ton out there on Soak (@Soakofficial), the 18 year-old Irish singer/songwriter. But this song tells me enough that she's worth following.
The waves of the sea echo in the beginning of this track before her childlike voice takes over. I love the line, "I don't think they know what love is / Throw around like its worthless."
Early front runner for song title of the year. Just so great. If you had to imagine what this song sounded like just based on this title, what do you think it would sound like? Something far out and kinda nutty? YES, that's exactly how it sounds!
Pond's latest album is easily the zaniest and fun album I've heard this year. Even though the drummer from beloved Tame Impala, Jay Watson, is in the band, Pond is more MGMT than Tame Impala. They're further out than the psych-rock that Tame Impala plays, but there are some really great catchy elements underneath all the sounds coming in at warp speed. If you like this track, definitely check their new album out!
Easily one of my favorite electro-pop groups from easily one of my favorite electro-pop albums.
It's a 1,600 word, 9 minute rap song that's propelled with a beat from The Buchanans who sampled the track Chanson D'un Jour D'hiver from the album Troupeau Bleu released in 1975 by a group called Cortex.
The most amazing thing about this song is the thought that Lupe could perform it live. Baffling with his wordplay and lyrical layers.
"My rap position was black condition and activism / Ammunition for abolition, missions attacking systems / But they're not apt to listen / unless it's dropping on Activision / Are we apps or are we bodies filled with apparitions? / Operating applications, stuck inside an Apple prison / Chicken hack and download updates that lack religion / Or...are we more?"
And that's only about 4% of the lyrics from that track...
A couple days ago I went through a musical exercise that was one of the many reminders why music touches so many different people in different influences. One of the artist involved, Natalie Prass, will be releasing a new album on January 26th. This is the first song I heard by her. She reminds me of a folksy Feist with her melodies, various instruments, and distinct voice. Check her live version of this song out (I can't seem to embed the YouTube video...) which really showcases her voice!
I'm first taken by its relaxed pace. Then Prass begins to sing. That melody. I've heard that before. But from where? I think and think and think. I listen to it again. Pause. Think. Listen again. That melody is on Drake's last album! So I'm scrounging through all the tracks when I remember, wait, it's on Kendrick Lamar's last album! I immediately cue up "Poetic Justice.”
So Prass did a cover of Janet Jackson's original which Kendrick Lamar sampled (and I'm guessing the title "Poetic Justice" is a sly shout-out to Janet since she was in a movie - with Tupac - with the same title.) What a beautiful circle of music. Thanks Janet!
Can you hear the same melody? I then chuckle when Drake starts rapping (half credit?). But then I'm intrigued as to whom is singing the melody on Lamar's track. Sure enough, it's a sample from a Janet Jackson song entitled, you guessed it, "Any time, Any Place:"
This band only has a few tracks out at the moment, but I was instantly drawn to this woman's siren: it's a bit raspy yet she hits so many highs and lows. I'm also a sucker for songs of heartbreak especially with a delivery and lyrics like these:
I lay low in my hotel room
thinking of you
when I'm the loneliest i've been
after a few
I'm still thinking of you.
And every time
the pills are trying to hide
this empty bedside.
I'm done with being alone.
I'm still thinking of you.
This song hit me immediately. The synths throughout and the chorus reminded me of The Killers and the heavy continuous bass drum reminds me of Interpol.
The craziest things? 1) That's a female voice. 2) It's Sting's daughter.
I'll never forget seeing Big K.R.I.T. perform at Austin City Limits in 2012. Within seconds of taking the stage, he just controlled the crowd. He got everyone so pumped up, singing along as he waved his towel and we jumped, hands waving to the rhythm as he viciously sprinted through his rhymes. It was one of the best performances I've seen by a rapper. All that being said, his new album just came out. The title track is my favorite. King Remembered In Time indeed!
Lemme fill you in real quick if you're a couple weeks late to the draw (or myself late to the post!): Drake was featured on a track on fellow rapper Meek Mill's new album called "R.I.C.O" (which btdubbs was on Monday Mixtape, Vol. 12).
After the album dropped, Meek Mill went on a twitter rant claiming that Drake used a ghostwriter named Quentin Miller for his verse. Turns out that Drake has credited Quentin Miller for writing other songs with Drake which would no longer make him a ghostwriter. Mill was also pissed that Drake wasn't promoting his feature on Mill's album, so he decided to go after the biggest rapper alive right now (regrets to Kendrick and Kanye).
Relationship note: Mill was also dating Nicki Manaj - who Drake has dated - and prior to this disaster joined Manaj on her world tour as an opening act. So now we're getting into a crazy love triangle. Drake's lyrics on this situation are great:
You love her, then you gotta give the world to her
Is that a world tour or your girl's tour?
I know that you gotta be a thug for her
This ain't what she meant when she told you to open up more
Needless to say, Mr. Mill, this was a mistake. As we learn time and time again, do not fuck with Drake. It's one thing when you're a nobody trying to make a name for yourself by going after a big rapper, but it's a huge mistake when you're actually selling records to go after the most beloved rapper.
Drake came back at Meek Mill with two diss tracks, "Charged Up," and "Back to Back." The latter is my favorite. This track has already ended the beef as Meek Mill took his diss tracks off SoundCloud.
The best part of this all has been the gifs on the Genius.com lyrics page for "Back to Back." First, play this song, read along to the lyrics, and appreciate a great diss track. Then, scroll down to the comments section and prepare to laugh your ass off with the clever gifs these people came up with.