Tag: New Music Monday

Music, Print, Reviews

new Music Monday: Tyler, The Creator — CHERRY BOMB

April 20, 2015

24 year old rapper/producer/writer, and founding member of the Odd Future hiphop collective, Tyler, The Creator is without a doubt, one of hip hop’s most controversial figures. Exploding onto people’s desktops with the infamous “Yonkers” music video, Tyler would go on to release two albums full of the pervasive, bludgeoned horror-core he would come to be known for, Yonkers and Bastard. Though in 2013, with the release of Wolf, Tyler dropped the horror-core facade, in favor of a jazzier, more main-stream sound that capitalized on the snot-nosed braggadocio Odd Future does so well, while still leaving room for the best storytelling we’ve received from the rapper so far. As big of a departure as Wolf was, Cherry Bomb is from Wolf.

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Music, Print, Reviews

New Music Monday: Desaparecidos — City on the Hill

April 13, 2015

Love him or hate him (because it’s more than likely one of the two) Conor Oberst is one of his generation’s most eminent singer/songwriter, not to mention prolific. Most commonly known as the one man/band folk rock act Bright Eyes, his side projects include Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Monsters of Folk, and Desaparecidos. The latter is a punk-rock band. As a fan of his works, I was a little surprised (and embarrassed) to find an Oberst project I hadn’t heard of. When the guy who turned me on to Bright Eyes told me about the single, I knew what I’d be writing about this week.

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Music, Print, Reviews

New Music Monday: Faith Healer — Cosmic Troubles

April 6, 2015

I’ll admit, I judged this book by its cover; the album cover, that is. Expecting some sort of sloppy metal, I braced myself for what I might hear. I could not have been more wrong. Jalbert commands the mic from first to last. The vocal that came as coy in Loyola loses the cuddle in favor of something more listless, lilting, and sardonic. The change is apparent in the instrumentation as well, which sports a fuzzy coating of 60’s psych, and sunny 70’s pop. The effect is something close to The Zombies meets Kimya Dawson, without any of the kitch.

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Music, Print, Reviews

New Music Monday: Courtney Barnett — Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

March 30, 2015

This week, Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett has released her highly anticipated sophomore album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (which for brevity’s sake, shall be referred to as Sometimes from here on out). The patently Australian chill that was present in her first album still rings true, while lazily wandering into new musical territory. There’s a warmth present in her tunes that beg for the album to be enjoyed on a couch, or front porch. Even the punchier tracks like “Dead Fox” or the lead single “Pedestrian at Best” have a “neighborhood BBQ” vibe to them.

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Music, Print, Reviews

New Music Monday: Death Grips – On GP

March 16, 2015

Death Grips fans rejoice! We have been eagerly (and impatiently) awaiting the release of the hiphop trio’s “final” album for quite some time now. After splitting up in July, the band promised the 2nd half of their final album by the end of the year. If you’re reading this, I don’t have to tell you that MC Ride and crew squelched on their promise. After the release of the unexpected Fashion Week LP, and numerous release date changes, it appears as though Death Grips has finally settled on a release date, and they mean to keep it. Jenny Death, the 2nd half of the powers that b, will be release March 17th. This Tuesday. Like I said, rejoice.

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Music, Print, Reviews

New Music Monday: Purity Ring — another eternity

March 9, 2015

This week, Purity Ring released another eternity, the 2nd studio release for the duo. The lead singles, namely “push pull” did a good job of describing the sugary sweet synth that we’d be getting in this album. The digitized Megan James vocal is the perfect candy-coated counterpoint to the whomping, swirling bass. Each song is a druggy fever dream tumbling through your computer screen. James and band mate Corin Roddick know their sound, and they do it well.

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Features, Music

NMM: Smoke and Mirrors— Imagine Dragons

February 23, 2015

Imagine Dragons, the quartet from sin-city capital Las Vegas, Nevada released Smoke and Mirrors this weekend. Their second studio album stands to fill some large shoes as their debut album Night Visions went platinum winning the band’s number one single “Radioactive” a Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Smoke and Mirrors track “I Bet My Life” has been looping through radio networks since last fall, giving fans a taste of the upcoming album, yet their single is no indication as to the overall sound of the album.

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