2016 pt. 1

Abbath - Abbath

When it comes to metal of the black inclination, the breadth and barbarism of Abbath's scare+despair components just about match that of the silly album cover -- instead of a full-on commitment to swallowing worlds and coercing into abysses, they transmit something a bit more in the way of traditionalist heavy-n-gallopin' thrashy riffage; their sturdy trounce rather stock but proficient and consistent enough to remain engaging and warrant some war-troll kitsch. Particularly adept at crescendo-breaking belches and well-timed synth-horns. 6.5/10

Anderson .Paak - Malibu

Fresh off his particularly illuminated guest-work on Dr. Dre's 'Compton', Paak delivers a full-n-flowing semi-filmic experience of his own: one whose bonafide and infectious old-meets-new soul&b uber-warmth is oft-mated with/accentuated by retro surf-talk samples and bittersweet familial nostalgia. Sure, the sustained breeziness it suffers from transforms to tiresome sex-corn now and again, there's some standouts yet it never really peaks -- but when instrumental suavity is this sumptuous and consistent, those very well may be non-issues. Plus he's got some hip-hop chops and is able to make jumping into bed with him sound nothin' but playful; Miguel could learn a thing or two here. 7/10

Boosie Badazz - In My Feelings (Goin' Thru It)

Losing faith in God cuz of a post-prison cancer diagnosis, in women cuz they stressin' him, in men cuz they failin' him; considering a pooch purchase for some semblance of actual companionship: Boosie's goin' thru it alright, and throughout this wisely-terse relentless downer of varying volumes it's his earnest charisma and unmistakable delivery that help you through a lethargic-by-nature aura and seize some real-life sympathy. And much like on last year's Touch Down 2 Cause Hell, the final track showcases a badazz w/ just piano that is downright touching, if perhaps a bit self-concerned this time around -- though given the circumstances, appropriate enough methinks. 6/10

DIIV - Is The Is Are

Despite their dishy-dream guitar tones/feedbacker squeal-skills/generous bass-lines, the full-time glum-bounce apathy leaves 'em feeling vacuous from the get-go, and they fall so rapidly into reiterations that I wouldn't hesitate to call it impressive. But hey, dishy's dishy; they bore agreeably, keep a fine beat, nurture a stylistic formula enough to churn out a true ear-perker now and then, pay tribute to godfathers Can+Primal Scream with mantric amp-yowl jam-out, etc. 5/10

DUST - Agony Planet

Sturdy, fairly mesmerizing, dense, robotically groovy, texturally aware -- quite acceptable for sweaty grave raves or when that stringent-creeper-techno scratch really starts itchin', but on the whole this can get old quick, often too quotidian to justify such elongation of both the separate tracks and overall album. Most of the voice utilization is stellar, with the background groaner of "Alien Prey" and "She Woke Up in Water"s anomalous straight-up distorto-shrill screaming serving as pinnacles amongst all the consonant echoey utterances. On the voice-usage flip-side however, the alien-talk is beyond corny; and I'll keep my fantasies/dreams/fears to myself, thank you every much. 6/10

Krallice - Hyperion [EP]

Scuzz-prog gurus ring in the New Year with an EP recorded 30 months prior that is not only more pronounceable than 2015's Ygg Huur, but more pronounced as well -- a comparable lack of superfluous meandering makes 'em more graspable; and no that's not a bad thing, especially not if they're cranking the anguished-black-metal-brutality knob up a notch in return. Other preferable perks include riffs you can dive into, feedback-wash standstills and, sure, the brevity too. 7/10

Luxury Elite - Noir  
*******HIGHEST RECS*******

Twenty instrumental compositions that meld together to form a sort of soundtrack for a nighttime city-strut. It "Arrival"s in style and stays that way -- sleek and austere, simplistic and hypnotic, staggering between frolicsome+groovy and pensive+breathtaking. Thanks to an average track-time somewhere around the 2-minute mark, not-a-one overstays its welcome, each often opting to vaguely convey its title before moving onto whatever act comes next -- all-the-while of course utilizing auras and aesthetics pulled from what one can only imagine as PS1-era cutscenes, hazy late night television, winning a car via gameshow circa 1985, that sorta thing. Just as it shamelessly rips out the swankiest of saxes and absurdly wanky gee-tar note-bends while suggesting Pink Panther walking down an alley at 3 a.m., it also adheres to admiring skyline scenery from an advantageous height, dreamin' and desirin', and perpetual dips into big ol' fountains of soothe. 8/10

Pop. 1280 - Paradise

Their uber-goth disposition leans towards comical, but the industria-synth sci-fi multiplex they invoke is capacious and persuasive -- textural reliability whether it's noisy punk propulsion or nearly-dance-floor-friendly or creepy-crawly bath-house atmospherics or whatever-in-between, rejecting languor on the regz, sovereign 'tude backed by a mien of doomful-yet-playful intrigue. A circuitous dystopian diapason wrapped up in ~40 minutes, not bad. 7/10

Roly Porter - Third Law

Sumptuous industria-tinged ambience whose free-drifting formidability sprouts from the remote nether-regions of the galaxy and hovers above like a smoldering fireball, eternally portending an imminent space-pocalypse. It regularly broods and occasionally bursts; and though the ominous low-end tremors and aerial glitch-grit are rich+dense+dandy, I do wish it did more of the latter -- like the anguished-wail churn-outs that surface from the furor in opener "4101", or when "Mass" bouncily nails electro-parallels into your skull while the world around you deteriorates. But spiking terrorization with riveting repose does seem to increase the sinisterly aspect: never underestimate the meditative unknown or the blazing unexpected. 6.5/10

Savages - Adore Life

Admittedly never was the hugest touter of their debut, but it had its enduring moments and grit-soaked everything and apparitional atmosphere and oft-vicious momentum -- all traits that are in short supply on the followup. Which doesn't need to be a bad thing, not at all in fact, but this just this lacks so much bite: the enduring are now satisfactory moderates stuffed up front, the grit-n-grooves just about relinquished, vox are overly exhausting or plain unenthused, momentum rendered to awkward spurts too caught up in the tangle of dry mid-range draggage and dour 'tude to keep up anything of intense worth. ~*~meh~*~