Brockhampton - The Family. Such a disappointment. When these guys blew on to the scene I caught their live show both ACL weekends and a Stubb's show in the middle. They were explosive and exciting and innovative and so very interesting. This is supposedly their last album, and it just goes out like a whimper. They rap about each other and why the group is breaking up, or what it was like when they started, and I just don't care. So what that your friendship turned into a business that turned into a nightmare? Boring. No killer beats. Lots of whiny lyrics. Just uninspired and useless. Which is too bad, would have been awesome for them to go out with a banger. Top track is "Big Pussy," with 4.4 million streams.
Definitely more like the tracks they made in the past - just in your face and brash. I like the beat switch too. Oh well, one good track out of the pile isn't the worst! See ya!
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Return of the Dream Canteen. Not sure why it ever makes sense for a band to follow up an album almost immediately with another full-length album. I'm of the mind that you take the scalpel to the two discs and choose the absolute best to make one killer album. Then you can release the b-sides in ten years for an archival fun time and additional sales. But that is not what the Chilis did here, as they released this disc on October 14, just 6 months after the April 1 release of Unlimited Love. And some of these tracks are very fun - "Tippa My Tongue" is catchy as hell (even if the lyrics are a little inscrutable). That is, of course, the top track. 18.4 million streams.
The build up at the start, the ridiculous taunting bit right away, the liquid bass and slippery guitar. Classic RHCP. Dig it. And so just imagine if this one was on Unlimited Love, giving it a second instant hit tune. They could have tightened up the whole set and made a new classic. Oh well. They played "Eddie" at their ACL set, and while it was a little uninspiring at the time, the song has grown on me over time. The guitar is really nice in there, and it is fun to think of them playing it for Eddie Van Halen as they apologize for something unstated. And a lot of these songs sound good, showcasing some Flea bass or Frusciante licks - just a nice groove. "Fake as Fuck" gets funky and includes some tasty trumpet bits (although it still could be a great b-side). But, like, "In the Snow" just feels like a freeform poem over throwaway jam licks that meanders around for six minutes. "Roulette" very much sounds like some other relatively recent song I have heard from the Chilis. It has a nice groove to it, but it just doesn't sound new and interesting. "My Cigarette" sounds like a throwaway using a drum machine - not the thundering smash of Chad. Boring... "The Drummer" gets my juices going. I'll keep it. You knew I was going to keep the dang thing, I just wish they had made one killer disc instead of two with up-and-down power.
Big Sean - Detroit. I dig Big Sean. I think his voice sounds cool, and his flow is usually a nice mix of laid back cruising and smart syncopation. He has a few bangers in his catalog as well. Nothing on here really snags me that way, the album mostly just flows along without anything too exciting or too terrible. Well, I think the last track with Wiz Khalifa is bad. Crap beat and generic flows. But the rest of it is just pleasantly good. "How it Feel" is relatively entertaining. Low stream counts up and down, so the album isn't exciting to others either. Top track is "24k of Gold" featuring J. Cole. 1.8 million streams.
Weird thing, when I searched for that on YouTube, I found that this is actually an old song. He uploaded a video for the track, without J. Cole, 9 years ago. So that is weird. Fine song. Nothing that really moves the needle for me, but the beat is kind of fun and bouncy. I don't need to save any of this.
Tyler Childers - Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven? Well, if I thought that the Chilis needed to tighten up their set, then this "album" is in need of a lobotomy. For whatever reason, Childers decided to release this 8-song album as three different concepts, mashed into one album. So, you get the same eight songs three different ways - "Hallelujah version" is a pared-back version of the music featuring Tyler and his band only, the "Jubilee version" is full band including strings, horns, organ, etc., and the "Joyful Noise version" is a DJ-mixed version with something called Charlie Brown Superstar. The first two are good, although a little frustrating that he didn't just pick the best versions of the songs and go with those instead of making it seem like I am just hearing the same thing twice. The last one is deeply dumb. I definitely do not need to hear that part. I get that he is trying to do something conceptual and interesting, but just release the normal album with the best cuts, and then you can release a super-deluxe version with all the weird crap crammed in there. Make disco versions! Turn it in to rap! I don't care, but I want the initial album to just be the absolute best thing he can do! Stream counts for the dumb ass techno versions are thankfully lower, so hopefully this disabuses the idea of acting like this in the future. Top track is the Hallelujah version of "Way of the Triune God," with 21 million streams.
See?! He can rip off some good-time classic-sounding tunes! He doesn't need DJ Superturd! Or a bunch of Andy Griffith soundbites! Just crank up some good lyrics and a slightly funky jam and you're set! I'm just going to keep the normal 8 tracks from the Hallelujah version and dump the rest.
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