Category

Bands

• 08.13.08
  The Un-savior of Hip-Hop - Wale   Bands (0)

  

  I’m not quick to crown anyone with a title, let alone someone I don’t really know. Secondly, it’s never good to name anyone as the saving grace of hip-hop, as it’s difficult to save anything that, en masse, isn’t in the mood to be saved. Since the birth of the movement, the salvation of hip-hop has been a low priority.

  But, along comes Wale and within a few listens, I’m suddenly thinking to against those lines. I downloaded the new Mixtape About Nothing, honestly based on the curiosity at what lunatic would really theme a mixtape after Seinfeld. After the opening few tracks, I’ve got those flutters in my ear that remind the first time I heard Mos Def’s Black On Both Sides, with the slick palatable production and intelligent rhymes. The Mixtape About Nothing itself is a solid work of art, that found itself getting multiple plays over the course of last weekend. He’s smart, without being too aloof. Production choices, like the use of Justice’s D.A.N.C.E as the backing on last year’s 100 Miles and Running shows a smart touch that’ll just make his wider appeal that much more apparent.

  I’ve had a pretty love/hate relationship with the last 5+ years of hip-hop, each year offering me less and less that genuinely appealed to my ear. Both production choices and lyrical styles just veered away from my real taste. Lately, production’s been a factor in my drifting off; moving away from a reliance on pricey samples took a little of the soul and swing away from much of the music. It’s cheesy, but I’m a sucker for just a well-aged snare sample. Well, From start to finish both The Mixtape About Nothing and 100 Miles And Running are slick, fun, and smart…a combination just not so often found in hip-hop these days. The choices of backing tracks are amazing, his lyrics are consistently interesting and at times, incredibly insightful (The Kramer). Hell, I’m even entranced by the purposeful contextualization of Seinfeld clips.

  Wale is on his way up. Given that the man has produced a few mixtapes that are better than most people’s debut albums in another 6 months, he’ll be someone you’ll struggle to not constantly read blog posts about.

  Enjoy his last two mixtapes, which are available as free, digital downloads:
  

  
  
  Wale - 100 Miles and Running

  
  Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing

  HIT THE JUMP FOR A SELECTION OF WALE YOUTUBE CLIPS THAT YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF JUST BY GOOGLING

• 06.28.08
  To Charm By Confusing - Fog   Bands (0)

  

  Ditherer is by far one of the more challenging albums I’ve encountered this year. There are far more outwardly bizarre records that have been and will be released this year, but Fog has slipped us something of a wolf in pop music’s clothing. Contained in the expanse of Ditherer are songs that feel somewhat normal, but are propelled by some psychotic veneer. As an album, it shifts gears compulsively; blindly slipping between the twitchy clatter of Inflatable Ape to the lazy mourning of What’s Up Freaks.

  I initially struggled with this album, constantly wanting to write it off for a short attention span and a jarring lyrical sense of humor. Little spastic touches like the deranged rising scale riff in the middle of I Have Been Wronged give light to the type of semi-charming psychosis that the album exhibits. The learning curve, even for one who’s got an ear for this kind of skewed outlook, is a little tough. I found myself charmed by one song at a time, listening to that track alone in the mindset that I’d never crack the riddle of the other 10 tracks. Slowly, a new song would catch my ear and I’d decode the foreign melody.

  Albums, like this, that come clear over time, after a challenge of repeated listen are ultimately rewarding ones.

  Check out these live sets from University of Minnesota’s Radio K which features both a six song set of Andrew Broder solo as well as a three song set with the full band.

  Also an Onion AV Club interview with the trio from late 2007.

  
  
  

  Fog - Your Beef Is Mine

  
  

• 05.17.08
  Maps And Atlases Announce New EP “You And Me And The Mountain”   Bands (0)

  After 2 years of much touring, Chicago’s avant-mathrockers Maps And Atlases have announced the release date for their next EP, entitled You And Me And The Mountain. You’ll be able to grab a copy digitally on June 16th, as well the limited edition CD produced by Sargent House will be available on their summer tour. Below is the cover art by Ryan Duggan.

  

  Make it a point to catch one of the dates on their upcoming tour. Their live show is quite fantastic, an energetic mix of gorgeously complex song structure and indie hooks. Take a look at my review from their last record release show and give a listen to ‘Every Place Is A House’ from their 2006 EP Trees, Swallows, Houses:

  
  Maps And Atlases - Every Place Is A House

  Hit the jump for Maps and atlases full tour schedule

• 02.20.08
  RECENT WORKS - aesop rock, battles, bowerbirds, health & les savy fav   Bands (0)

  Well, I figured it’s time to update the back catalog of my archived reviews. Here’s what’s been written in the past few months for other outlets and one bonus review that I, well…don’t even remember writing. Seriously, it just turned up on my HD.

  Enjoy…

  battles - mirrored

  les savy fav - let’s stay friends

  health - health

  aesop rock - none shall pass

  bowerbirds - hymns for a dark horse

• 01.15.08
  Stars Of The Lid Announce Rare U.S. Tour   Bands (0)

  Pitchfork announced today that dronesmiths Stars of the Lid will be touring the U.S. this spring. I’m not usually one for just reposting a band’s tour dates from another music blog, but this is something that I personally have been waiting for since their last tour in 2002.

  Last year saw the release of The Stars Of The Lid And The Refinement Of Their Decline, which while not their best release in their catalog, it’s still a phenomenal record. Their greatest release in my mind is 2001’s The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid. The double disk set is a nearly perfect work of calm, something that is both rewarding to a focused or passive listen. To those that might be on the fence about going to see live minimalism or even listening to a drone band such as SOTL, you have to get into the mindset that it’s music that serves a purpose as much as it is simply something to listen to. Flex your patience and give a show like this a shot. Music like this becomes something disconnected from a traditional live music experience, moving into something that is consumed physically as well as acoustically. Stars of the Lid is possibly one of the best entrances to minimalism, as nearly all their catalog is pretty accessable and beautiful. Ultimately, to the uninitiated going to see SOTL live will probably far easier on the psyche than one’s first show being sunn 0))).

  04-14 Los Angeles, CA - TBA

  04-15 San Francisco, CA - The Independent

  04-17 Portland, OR - TBA

  04-18 Seattle, WA - Triple Door

  04-21 Minneapolis, MN - Southern Theatre

  04-22 Champaign, IL - Staerkel Planetarium

  04-23 Grinnell, IA - Sebring-Lewis Concert Hall

  04-24 Louisville, KY - 9:30 Listening Room

  04-25 Pittsburgh, PA - Warhol Museum

  04-26 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theatre

  04-27 London, Ontario - Museum London

  04-28 Toronto, Ontario - Music Gallery

  04-29 Montreal, Quebec - TBA

  05-01 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts

  05-02 New York, NY - Good Shepard Faith Church (Wordless Music Series)

  05-03 Philadelphia, PA - TBA

  05-04 Washington, DC - TBA

  05-05 Asheville, NC - TBA

  05-07 Austin, TX - Ritz Theatre

  05-17 Minehead, England - Butlin’s Holiday Centre (Explosions in the Sky ATP)