FIDLAR - Almost Free. I've enjoyed their tunes in the past, kind of a sneering punky Sum 41 thing, mixed with an almost Brit rock strut in other bits. They open the album with this super tightly bound Kid Rock tribute song called "Get Off My Rock" that sounds very much like a song that Rock would have actually put out into the world. Barking dogs, altered vocals, weird little effects stolen from rap songs, southern harmonica soul licks, and a yelled chorus. Classic. Also very annoying. The most streamed tune is called "Can't You See" and its more of the Brit rock sound - not bad actually.
Much better groove than the rest of the album - most of the rest of the album is way more plain and boringly hard. This one slinks and struts a little, gets your shoulder rolling. But that song isn't enough to salvage the rest of the disc, I'll let it go. FUTURE - Future Hendrxx Presents: The WIZRD. WTF is up with that album title, man? Just call the damn thing The Wizard. Shit is annoying. Anyway, this album also happens to be bad. Not that you should be shocked, I've tried no less than 5 Future albums, and always come away curious about what in the hell people see in the dude. All Auto-Tune all the time. Mediocre lyrics. Hard beats but exceedingly similar over the course of the album. He does this every time. At least some of the other albums had a good track or two, this one just falls flat totally. "Crushed Up" is the top streamer, and one that Rolling Stone specifically called out as being good or whatever, but even with 47.3 million streams, I give it a big fat thumbs down.
If you want to hear the guy slur the words "diamonds crushed up in the face I can see it" 384 times, then by all means, make that song your jam. Otherwise, I think you can just let it go. Same with the rest of the disc, which is heavy on R&B tracks and lighter on the straight rap bangers. Nope. Beach House - 7. This is one of those bands that gets super hyped all the time on Twitter or in magazines or whatever - I feel like I'm always seeing people getting pumped up about Beach House shows or albums or whatever. I don't get it. It's quite nice - "Pay No Mind" is a sleepy, dreamy nap of a song that feels like smoking a fat bowl and then being suffocated under a billion napping sloths. Which is actually a compliment, I like the vibe of it a lot. But the album overall is just more and more of that same sleepy stuff - gets very boring after a while. The top streamer, with 12.5 million listens, is "Lemon Glow," which adds a grating background boing to the somnolent track. I don't care for it.
This album has, quite frankly, just been in my queue for way too long. It keeps coming back up and playing through, but I just don't care to hear it any more. Its not bad, its just not good either. SwuM - Swimming. A friend played me a track from this guy the other day, and it seemed kind of cool, so I thought I'd try out a whole album. If you're into the kind of music that they are probably playing right now at Abercrombie & Fitch, to the extent that place still even exists, then this is your jam. Beat maestro stuff, full of loopy sounds and sampled nuggets and a chilled out vibe. The coolest ones are where he takes a rap and remixes it over these horn-sampling, screwed up beats, like "Trees." This is one of the more streamed tunes, "Rhodes," to let you in on the flavor.
It was kind of cool to check this out, but not my bag, baby.
Ghostface Killah - Ghost Files - Bronze Tape. I love Ghostface. Sweet, old-school beats crafted from old soul samples and clips of gangster/western/kung-fun movies. His angry flow over the top, just swinging punches and throwing down in every track. A simple google search didn't tell me what the movie lines come from on this particular album, but they're freaking perfect - some gangsters who get off with murder and laugh in the face of the lawmen who tried to stop them. But literally, this album bangs from start to finish, no filler, all classic Wu-loving tracks, tailor made for me to nod along to. BUT, in an odd turn, this is a third version of a mixtape, called The Lost Tapes, which was released in 2018 and then remixed twice, once by Agallah, once by Bronze Nazareth. So this is the last of those - I haven't even tried the others to see if they are better. More work for me! Here is the one with Raekwon on it - "Watch Em Holla," with 46k streams:
Yeah, baby. Ghostface has a great vocal sound, and Raekwon also has a classic sound. There are a couple of normal collaborations - Snoop & E-40, that one with Raekwon - but then loads of dudes I've never heard of, with weird names like Hus KingPin, Planet Asia, and Styliztik Jones. Whatever dude. Do your thing. Random aside, 'Face has some classic albums in his catalog - rapheads all pump his 2000 album Supreme Clientele, but I also love 2006's Fishscale, which was the first of his solo albums that I ever purchased and bumped all the time while doing work around my first house. I bring those up because none of their songs are in his top ten most popular tunes as of right now. Which is weird. And none of the songs from this album have that many streams - not sure how something this solid can completely fly under the radar - maybe because the dude puts out so many mixtapes, people get tired. I'll keep this. Saba - Care for Me. This is that laid-back, backpack style of rap, chilled beats with smooth vocals quickly fitting loads of words into the cadence of the track. Lots of piano and jazzy horns, less deep bass, more snares and spacey effects. Has a similar feel to the Chance the Rapper stuff. Top track is "LIFE" with just over 8 million streams.
Definitely one of the best on the album, with an elastic bass kick that sounds cool as hell. Overall though, the album just bores me. Nothing on here feel essential. JID - DeCaprio 2. This guy is freaking awesome. Like Kendrick at times, like Wayne at other times, representing Atlanta all throughout. The track with A$AP Ferg reminds me of how much I like that dude, and although there are other cameos on this, it is JID's verses that do the most work. Method Man puts in a good verse, but still, its all JID all the time on this disc. "Jest Da Other Day" is some Lil Wayne sounding fire. "Slick Talk" is truly slick. He even makes a J. Cole song sound good. That J. Cole one has the most streams, but I'm gonna give you the one right behind it, "151 Rum" with 24.8 million streams.
The flow of those words is so smooth, it just draws out like taffy into the distance and never pauses for a single breath. And I like the beat, with that droning Middle Eastern sounding instrument weaving through. If only the song was longer - I need more... "Hot Box" with Method is greatness, very laid back beat and Method's sleepy lyrics. This is a very good mixtape. You know who else is freaking awesome? Lizzo. I love her ACL performance a few years back, and she has a new track out called "Juice" that is just plain freaking fun. Looking forward to a new album... Weezer - Teal Album. There was a time when I would have called Weezer a favorite band. Likely never the actual number one top band at that time, but definitely up there in the conversation. The Blue Album was just too perfect for me to ignore as a classic. In the many albums since then, they have never reached that peak, but they have gone from pretty good (Pinkerton, Green Album, Red Album) to meh (White Album, Make Believe) to awful (Hurley, Raditude, Pacific Daydream). This one falls into that final category for me. I know they're trying to continue their ironic, winking ways by covering a bunch of cheese anthems like Toto's "Africa," but I'm so freaking sick of hearing that stupid song, this entire thing is tainted by it. I'll admit I thought it was funny the first time I heard it, but now that it is being played on every style of radio - pop, alternative, rock, easy listening - and other public places - sporting events, pre-concert mixes - I'm ready to never hear that shit again. Please. So this is an album that triples down on that schtick, with some Michael Jackson, some Tears for Fears, some Eurythmics, some A-ha, and then a few left field ones like TLC's "No Scrubs" and Sabbeth's "Paranoid." They're all kind of entertaining for a minute, but they're also just too generically faithful to the original, so what is the point? Turn "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" into a chugging semi-metal "Hashpipe" thing. Don't just play the exact song, note-for-note. Its not interesting at all. Here is "Take On Me," a pretty straight-forward reproduction.
I mean, how cool that they got Stranger Things kid Finn Wolfhard to play Rovers Cuomo, and that they pay homage to the original video's black and white drawing style. All of that is super neato. But the actual song? Do I really need to hear that anymore? No, dear reader, I do not. This album can disappear.
Bonjour! Je suis Jack! j'demande le possoin et la pomme du terre, sil vous plait! I am an extremely international individual, as is obvious from my extremely tight recollection of the three years of French class I took like 30 years ago. If you need someone to order you strawberries from a male waiter, I have your damn back, man. I frequently discuss the strong link between the Chicago Lollapalooza lineup and the ACL lineup. Last year I did a whole thing about the foreign Lollas and City Limits festivals to see if they tracked the ACL lineup - the link is weak. Also, it would appear that neither the Auckland nor Sydney City Limits festivals are actually happening this year. With these foreign festivals, there is some commonality in the past, although it is more like 1 of the top 6 who will show up in Austin, not 4 or 5 of 6. Still, time to take a look at the international Lollapaloozas to see if we could divine anything from those posters.
Lollapalooza now throws down in Berlin, Paris, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Stockholm. And like I said before, the City Limits down under appear to not be happening this year. So, what do we have for the top lines from those posters? First, let's check the history: 2016 Lineups:
Lolla Brazil, Argentina and Chile all had the same top 6 headliners: Eminem (no), Florence & the Machine (no), Jack U (no), Mumford & Sons (yes), Snoop Dogg (no), Noel Gallagher (no). So only 1 of 6 match.
Lolla Berlin: Radiohead (yes), Kings of Leon (no), Major Lazer (yes), Paul Kalkbrenner (no, wtf?), Phillip Poisel (no, wtf again?), New Order (no). 2 of 6 match.
Auckland City Limits: Kendrick Lamar (yes), The National (no), Fat Freddys Drop (errr, no?), Modest Mouse (no), Girl Talk (no), Shapeshifter (no). 1 of 6. WTF is Fat Freddy's Drop and what is it doing on the top line of a poster? New Zealand people, man.
2017 Lineups:
Lolla Brazil/Argentina/Chile: Metallica (no), The Strokes (no), The Weeknd (no), The xx (yes), The Chainsmokers (no), Flume (no). 1 of 6.
Lolla Paris: Red Hot Chili Peppers (yes), The Weeknd (no), Imagine Dragons (no), Lana Del Rey (no), DJ Snake (no), London Grammar (no). 1 of 6.
Lolla Berlin: Foo Fighters (no), Mumford & Sons (no), The xx (yes), Hardwell (no), Beatsteaks (no), Marteria (huh? no). 1 of 6.
Auckland City Limits: Was cancelled in 2017.
2018 Lineups:
Lolla Brazil/Argentina/Chile: Pearl Jam (no), Red Hot Chili Peppers (no), Killers (no), Imagine Dragons (lol, no), Lana Del Rey (no), LCD Soundsystem (no). Zero of 6. Interestingly, zero cross-over, although we had recently had The Killers and LCD and the Chilis.
Lolla Paris: Depeche Mode (no), Gorillaz (no), Killers (no), Travis Scott (yes), Nekfeu (WTF?), Diplo (no). 1 of 6.
Lolla Berlin: The Weeknd (no), Kraftwerk (lol, no), Imagine Dragons (nope), KIZ (?!?), The National (yes), David Guetta (no). 1 of 6 again.
Auckland: Beck (no, dammit), Justice (yes), Future (no, thank God), Grace Jones (like the lady in that James Bond movie?), Phoenix (yes), Peking Duck (no). Two of six, BUT Phoenix was only added to ACL late once Childish Gambino punked out.
Sydney: Beck (no), Justice (yes), Future (no), Vance Joy (no), Phoenix (yes), Tash Sultana (no) 2 of 6 again.
What does that tell you? People in other countries will allow headliners that would cause me to riot? Yes, there are a few connections, but you aren't seeing a good, strong, locked-down connection here. But let's check out the lineups for this year, and pick one that we can carry on as the headliner to match up:
South America Lollas: Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, Arctic Monkeys, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Lenny freaking Kravitz?
Paris Lolla: Twenty One Pilots, Martin Garrix, The Strokes, Migos, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Orelsan.
Berlin Lolla: Kings of Leon (?!? #1?), Swedish House Mafia, Twenty One Pilots, Kraftklub, Martin Garrix, something unannounced TBD
Stockholm Lolla: Travis Scott, Lana Del Rey, Foo Fighters, Laleh, Chance the Rapper, Lil Uzi Vert.
So, crap. That's like five instances of Twenty One Pilots. Some of these for sure won't be here, as we've recently had Arctic Monkeys and Travis Scott. But what about some of the rest of these?
Twenty One Pilots. Not happening. They will be here in Austin for a show at the Frank Erwin Center on June 23. Last year I did an inspection of the history of bands playing both a show in Austin as well as the Fest, and while the data is not iron-clad conclusive, I can pretty easily say that none of the headliners play big touring shows in town this close to the Fest. Although, their schedule leaves open a big gap where Chicago Lolla could fit, and then they end by September 7, so they could easily be added to both of those. I gotta go with no, just because of that June concert date, even though it sure feels like the right band to come back this year.
Post Malone. In case you never read it, Please go read this review from Jeff Weiss of the Washington Post. "a rhinestone cowboy who looks like he crawled out of a primordial swamp of nacho cheese. Post Malone is a Halloween rental, a removable platinum grill, a Cubic Zirconium proposal on the jumbo screen of a last-place team." So delicious. And obviously, I'm not on board with him showing up here, but let's take a look. Playing Bonnaroo and Firefly. Played Lolla last year (to absolutely massive crowds). Playing a handful of European festivals. Tour is done by August 25. So, he has the time to do it, has already played multiple C3-booked events. Feels like a yes.
Kendrick Lamar. You have to love a website that lets you go look at a blank touring page. With no tour happening, no music rumored (except maybe?), and an appearance here three years back, I'm gonna go with no. If he puts out new music, we can revisit that.
Migos. I've mentioned many times before how much I hate these homophobic idiots, so I hope they won't be here. They're playing a few minor festivals, nothing big, and no new music that I know of, so I'll go with a no.
Foo Fighters. Feels like these poor bastards have been on tour for years in support of that last album. I figured they would be done by now, but nope, they're still cranking out tour dates right now. Their schedule has a gap where Lolla Chicago falls, and then it ends at the end of September, leaving it wide open for the first two weekends of October. Wow, their last ACL was in 2015? Seems like it wasn't that long ago. Based solely on that schedule, I'd go with yes, but I'm unsure if this would be an exciting pick this year. Concrete and Gold came out in 2017. And just as an aside, that first song on that album is still a bad ass, bite sized slice of classic rock happiness that is too fucking short - I just listened to it again, and when it kicks in at about 1:06, I want to explode. This article makes the claim that they are going to take some time off before starting a new album, but that touring schedule seems to belie that assertion. Huh. That schedule is just too perfect, the way those gaps fall. I'm torn, but for now I'm going to say no. Another where a new album would change my thinking.
Kings of Leon. Another one with no new music, no real tour (only a few festival slots), and little excitement that I feel in my loins. Which are the final decider in anything I decide. Going no.
Swedish House Mafia. This might be the most annoying website. I'm sure they are counting down to the release of their hype new album of sick beats and collaborations with Karyyyn and MaxCherry in 46 days. Again, their published schedule leaves space for both Lolla and ACL, with the last show on there happening on Sept. 20. These guys have some buzz, having just re-formed, play the EDM that all the kiddies want to hear, and have the time, so I'm going with yes.
Chance the Rapper. Just in my gut, going with a no. It would be very weird for him to keep coming here every other year. Just a few festival dates on his calendar. But, he has a new album coming out in July. Even with new music, I'm not feeling it. Would seriously be weird for him to go 2015, 2017, and 2019 at ACL. No.
Lana Del Rey. I feel like many of these artists are trolling me. NONE of these people have any shows on the weekend of ACL. JUST MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I CAN CROSS YOU OFF THE LIST! No real tour right now, just a handful of festival dates that end in July. Just going with the gut and saying no.
Lenny Kravitz. Poor Lenny. I want to imagine him just living some rasta vibrations on an island, smoking fat joints and counting his money while hanging out with his movie star daughter. Not banging out three more versions of "Fly Away" (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!) in South American countries. Who knows, maybe he still loves it, but his new album was pretty actively bad, so I can't imagine he plans to do much more than a career revue set. (Which I would love - Mama Said and Are You Gonna Go My Way are classics). His touring schedule is just South America and European dates, with nothing in the States, that ends in July. I guess I could see him coming here, and being one of the minor legacy acts on like line 4 of the poster, but until I learn more, I'm going with a no.
The Strokes. Please don't bring these slugs back again. Their set a few years ago was so lame. I couldn't tell if they even had a pulse. No real tour right now, just six festival shows. The last of those, though, is September 27 in California, which sets them up nicely to head to Texas for two weekends. And they have a big gap between Paris and that Cali show when they could play Lolla Chicago. So... But is there any interest? Do they have any new music? Are they absolutely still just coasting off of Is This It? Ugh, this article claims they are making a "global comeback" in 2019. Sure sounds likely, doesn't it? Will go with a reluctant yes.
Sam Smith. Although his voice is weapons-grade beautiful, and I'm still annoyed at my friends who turned down a chance for us to go see his ACL taping last year, I don't see this one. He doesn't have a proper tour right now, just some festival dates that peter out in April. No.
So, all of that in mind, it looks like the start of a truly disappointing festival lineup (for me, personally, I'm sure y'all love these three groups): Swedish House Mafia, Post Malone, The Strokes. I feel really solid about the SHM pick, and then medium solid about the other two. With 21 Pilots and Foo Fighters as ones that sure are tugging on my brain but don't feel correct.
Before full albums, I have a handful of singles that I keep hearing when I restart my queue, so I thought I'd mention them as well:
Catfish & the Bottlemen - Longshot. Freaking great pop rock tune. I like these guys anyway, but every time this one comes back on, I can't help but jam it. Swaggering, tuneful, just right.
The Lumineers - Walls. Tom Petty cover song and its amazing.
Lizzo - Juice. Oh how I love Lizzo. her live shows a few years back at ACL were an amazing sight to behold, and this joyful slice of braggadocio is the shizzz.
Noname - Song 31. OK, not great, in line with the tunes from Room 25 album, super chilled jazzy beat and her conversational rap.
5 Seconds of Summer - Lie To Me. Kind of sad little tune, they have nice voices, but the song isn't that special. (and then I spent all weekend singing it anyway - the brain is a weird thing).
Sam Smith - Fire on Fire (from Watership Down). Didn't know there was a new Watership Down movie, that was my absolute favorite book as a child. I don't especially care for this song in particular, but my God Sam Smith's voice is one of the greatest things ever. He absolutely crushes this song, packing emotional heft and a lightness into every syllable.
Raconteurs - Sunday Driver. New Raconteurs? Hell yes, sign me up for some new Raconteurs. Their old albums were top notch bluesy rock, and so I'm all in for this stuff.
Logic - Keanu Reeves. Pretty cool sounding song - Logic's ability to go 2x the speed of anyone else currently making tracks is very impressive. This one is pretty smooth and quick, but not a full on boat race. OK song.
Yungblud - LONER. Meh. I liked his live show and enjoyed some of his tracks from the last album, but this one doesn't do much for me.
FONTAINES D.C. - Too Real. Pretty solid blast of punk rock energy with a disinterested sort of vocal. Like a new slice of Fugazi.
Swearin' - Fall Into the Sun. This one came out last year, but I've been sticking with it for months now. This is the sister of Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield, Allison, as the lead singer for most of the songs (although a dude takes over here and there) and its got a fuzzed out, DIY kind of jam to it. Kind of a new take on Dinosaur Jr. or something, lots of chugging guitar and fuzz. My favorite tune on the album is sadly not the most popular, so I'm obviously very unpopular and should go buy some Air Force Ones and Guess jeans to try to fit into the in crowd. Those are still cool, right? I'm not sure if I've told this story before, but back in the day all the cool kids had those black and white Banana Republic t-shirts with like a drawing of an elephant or jaguar on the back, and on the front they had a little pocket with, I'm gonna say a star and some bananas? Memory fades over time. Anyway, I wanted one of those shirts SO HARD. And my mom ignored those pleas until, in typical fashion for my fashion, I got a significantly lamer BR t-shirt about 2 years after everyone else had stopped wearing those shirts. Maybe this is why I wear uncool shit still today... Anyway, "Dogpile" rules. But its only got 65k streams, so obviously my tastes are sad and depressed. "Grow into a Ghost" ends up being the most streamed, at 236k streams.
Great tune as well - much more fast paced and jangly than "Dogpile," but still good in its own way. "Untitled (LA)" kicks off like an old R.E.M. song and then sounds like The Breeders, then the middle kicks it up more like Courtney Barnett. Good stuff. I don't know enough about actually playing the guitar to know the actual facts behind this, but their notes almost sound flat, like on "Margaret," where the guitar tone sounds slightly down, sour, flat, like they're intentionally keeping it from being as bright as that tune otherwise could be with that tempo and jangle. Anyway, highly tasty album. Kurt Vile - Bottle It In. This one appeared on a few year end lists, and I have to say that I was pretty non-impressed by it on the first glance. But after letting it percolate with me and streaming it a bunch over the past two months, I've actually really come to enjoy it. Extremely low key, chilled out, a grooving vibe kind of album. Nothing on here jumps up and yells for attention, instead it all seems to absorb energy and just snuggle with it. He came to ACL a few years back, and I remember really enjoying that album with "Pretty Pimpin" on it. That tune is much more party-time than these ones. "Bassackwards" is a 10 minute cool ride on a wave of guitar and groove. "One Trick Ponies" is slightly more energetic, but still totally chill. But the album opener, "Loading Zones," is the top streamer at just over 5 million streams.
I PARK FOR FREE! With some tasty warbling and fuzz - good tune. This whole album is very tasty. Maggie Rogers - Heard It In a Past Life. This gal kind of rules. I saw her at SXSW a few years back, some YouTube or Red Bull sponsored thing, and thought she was pretty good. Nothing overpowering or ridiculous, just a nice voice and some good lyrics. Fine. And then "Light On" was released a few months ago and it shot right up into the pantheon of greatest tunes of all time. That may be hyperbole, but I cannot deny that I wake up still singing that song and loving it for the lyrics and the powerful sense of feeling that it lays down every time I hear it again.
More than once, that damn thing has brought me to tears. Hell, just starting it over again with that YouTube video made goose bumps pop up all up and down my arms. Yeah, here we go again - when she sings "you should be so happy now" and strains at the wheel of her car with tears running down her face, I'm done. Damn. The rest of the album is also good - has a HAIM vibe, that kind of dance-able indie pop music and strong vocals. "Give a Little" is also a good tune, "Overnight" is solid, and I like "Burning" as well. But nothing on here lives up to the power of "Light On." Good, not great, album. Big K.R.I.T. - TDT. This guy is good. Mississippi rapper who has made some good tracks and albums. "Energy" has a bunch, just a bouncy fun track. "Pick Yourself Up" is a classic slice of Bay Area Too $hort-homage beat with a smooth ass flow slinking in between the hand claps. Love it. "Learned from Texas" is a UGK homage that is also dope. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, does the album title stand for Throw Back Thursday? Are these all intended to pay homage to someone else's style? Ah, no, these are a compilation of three short EPs, Thrice X, Double Down, and Trifecta (thus TDT). The top track is "Glorious," at 1.7 million streams.
Pretty basic trap beat and uninspiring lyrics though. I like the song well enough, but nothing in there is that exciting or interesting. Almost sounds like a Migos track or something, with lyrics that are pretty blah but a tough feel. And the "1 Oh Oh" is more like an R&B track instead of rap, so I'm not so sure I like it that much. Overall, I like the album, even if some of the tracks feel a little uninspired in comparison to his last full album.
Two short asides before the rest of the action - The Lumineers' version of Tom Petty's "Walls" is fantastic. Also, I saw a guy at Antone's last night and he used a big spinning wheel to choose his next songs. Kind of clever and got the crowd into it. Jay Rock - Redemption. I came to this guy and this album because of the excellent "King's Dead" song that was on the Black Panther soundtrack and is all brawny and rippling with aggressive beats and muscle.
And I've talked about that song before. The bummer about that song is that I had heard that annoying little hook from Future before - the "ladidadidah, schlob on me knob" bit - without ever connecting the points to understand that MY NINE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER was listening to that portion of the song over and over while making these stupid Musical.ly videos. I hate the modern world so very much. BUT, even beyond that song, this is a great hip hop album. Three other standout tracks: "Wow Freestyle," "ES Tales," and "Rotation 112th." Rock has a good flow and grabs some good beats - "ES Tales" is a good example of that - a pretty basic boom bap beat, but then they toss in the sound of Mario getting a coin here and there, and I like it. And the "Wow Freestyle" invokes the Owen Wilson "wow" thing, which makes me smile. Good disc. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - Merrie Land. I'm such a weirdo. It truly bothers me that there is no oxford comma in that band name. Why do I care? I dunno, but I'm all annoyed at them now. So, this is the third (fourth?) band from Damon Albarn, the guy behind both Blur and Gorillaz, and it has hallmarks of the Gorillaz sound for sure. But its more of a real band - actual instruments underneath Albarn's vocals instead of computer and drum machines. Although it is pretty heavy on the organ/synth. Anyway, I liked their first album, an eponymous disc from 2007 (I think I even purchased it), but this one doesn't do much for me. It keeps coming on when I listen to that Jay Rock album over and over, and while its not terrible or anything, it just fails to light me up in any way. Very chilled, very plain, unremarkable. The top song is the album opener, but I'll give you the second most streamed, which is also the second song on the album. This is "Gun to the Head," with 554k streams.
His cadence seems to try to shove more words into each line than it should, which makes it feel less planned, more tossed off, and therefore less enjoyable to hear. Seems like he didn't take the time to really craft the songs and just shoved all the things he wanted to say into the tune that was given to him. Is that tune about Brexit? I think its about Brexit. Whatevs, this album can move along it's merrie way. Vic Mensa - HOOLIGANS. Conflicting album right here - on the one hand, I very much dislike this style of Drake-ian sing-song semi-rap, and was embarrassed enough at listening to it to turn it off when someone just walked into my office. On the other hand, it is extremely catchy and I keep very much enjoying it when it first comes back on. I'm losing my edge, man. Well, actually, now that I really analyze it, I think I like the first two songs, and then the rest of the album kind of blows. That is the conflict. The Ty Dolla Sign song really sucks, and the G Eazy track is somehow even worse (although, of course, it is the top track on this album, because the world is horrible and we should all die in a fire). "Dark Things" is the second track, and the combination of beat and flow clicks right on. 2.6 million streams (compared to 32.9 for the G Eazy track).
Yeah, I'm embarrassed all over again about liking that song. I've definitely lost my edge. Time for me to take a trip back into the belly of classic rap. This album can go. Forming the Void - Rift. Welcome to the vaulted halls of Metal Valhalla. Here is your hammer, a flagon of mead, and a copy of this album. Commence the rock! This is some badass, sludgy, crunchy, fuzzy, pummeling hard rock action that kind of rules. Kind of like that band Mastodon, but a little more tuneful, the perfect music to crank out boring work to. Dudes are from Louisiana, but they almost sound like they could be from Norway or Germany or one of those places that mints this style of mega-riff rock and roll. Only seven songs, but 45 minutes, and it feels like I get immersed into it each time. A good sign. The top track is the second one on the album, "On We Sail," with only 24k streams. Which is hilarious. How did I find this album? They don't have a single song in their catalog that breaks 40k streams. Weird.
Oh yeah, baby. Bring out the druids and shit. Druids who drink PBR. The ending bonfire party is actually kind of a funny twist to an otherwise kind of cheesy video. Anyway, I've been through this album no less than 15 times by now, I just keep going back to it, and I dig it.
