Karl Blau - Introducing Karl Blau
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\
Despite having ~20 years under his belt as a prominent character in low-budget indie miscellany, the introductory title remains reasonable -- this neat little 10-track collection of country covers is so instrumentally rich and placidly professional I'da never guessed it wasn't his usual forte, forming a new-n-enhanced identity from some old-n-standard ones. And as someone who only recognized the Memphis-arrival-explanation kickoff and that one about the woman sensuous woman, it's convincing enough to read up on all of the OGs even when they're not your usual forte either. Barring the 10-minute sendup of Link Wray's "Fallin' Rain" that breezes through its duration absurdly adeptly, these renditions are accurate, accessible, well-mannered; maybe to a fault even. But the flourishes and authenticity, the detail and personable poise, the whole routinely lovely without getting showy thing, they all work wonders. Irony-free, too: even that woman sensuous woman one is sincere as hell. 8/10
Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines
I'll grant Gunn this: his guitar work is genial and hard to outright loathe, his songwriting courteous and humble, his backing band attitudinally aligned and well-meaning. But why-o-why does laid-back have to sound this neutralized, this tepid? It's pleasant+passable turned perilless yawn-prompter, befitting background breeziness for those who wanna "look around and waste the day" or "feel like the ocean". Nothin' wrong with some normalcy, but maybe just take those eyes off the lines from time to time. Look around elsewhere, see where it gets ya. ~*~meh~*~
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
The mucho-mentioned album-as-undisturbed-loop is novel and nice, but a plain ol' propensity for breakneck psych-drenched propulsion is nicer -- they straddle the line between firm and feral, goofy and gung-ho, fun and formidable; convincingly conjuring up images of fig wasps+people vultures and continuing to command attention through the flashes of deja vu and jerky-groove change-ups that serve as calm-downs from all that buzzy racket. Oh right, the hooks and the howling; very vital as well. 7.5/10
Lone - Levitate
Incessant hyperactivity and luminous melodies and sparkling spacy joviality make this an immediate grabber, and a vibe-filled breeze-out starring a heartbroken semi-stalker as an interludial breath-of-air is always a charmer too. Admirable beat-layering meticulosity and mood-swelling capabilities no doubt, but digging past the swiftness-n-swooshes tends to expose a sense of vapidity obscured by all that benevolent and dancy birr. Could just be skilled+smooth treading into sterile, or that sampled hook stating "our style is the craziest" when it kinda just sounds old hat -- but eh, why dig? 6.5/10
Frank Ocean - Blonde
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
The super-sparse instrumentation often sounds like a prodigy's humble bedroom experimenting and demeanor-wise he's rather lax, leaving those anticipating accommodation via assertive beats-n-bangers in the dust. Fortunately, Frankie O knows his soft-selling; and the muscle of mysticism -- the musical understatements are almost always angelic and heighten the intimacy while the couple-a loud ones provide curveballs, words wade in offhand generalities but will gladly toss out telling tidbits and scraps of brilliance, skit-inclusions of a worried mother's archived drug-debarring and a flabbergasted man's Facebook-focused breakup are forever open to interpretation as is the squall-soaked questioning hidden on the tail-end. But maybe most of all he knows the efficacy of his own voice, even when he's skirting its full capacity or locked in computerized-chipmunk mode -- which isn't to say he won't step aside for a much-needed minute-or-so of rapid Andre 3000 perfection. 8.5/10
Payroll Givoanni - Big Bossin' Vol. 1
Giovanni and sole producer Cardo Got Wings's take on smooth-ass g-funk is uber-versed flow-wise and very rarely insufficient when it comes to doze beats -- very articulate and on-point and a purveyor of many-an unforeseen rhyme, instrumentals decently fresh+distinct for evident throwbacks and, well, pretty goddamn smooth. But, man: money money money money. Hustling hustling hustling. Being on top of women and the world. Genuine and thorough sure, but oof does it get monotonous and thematically bore before ya know it, nevermind after an hour plus. O Papa Payroll, is it wrong that I maybe empathize with you only during the paranoid snafus in "Day in the Life"? Though I suppose fuckin' on a pile of money has always been on the bucket list. 6/10
Raime - Tooth
Now hey, I dig straightforward sinisterness and detached scream snippets as much as the next guy, but the unceasing scant creepin' here gets monotonous fast and doesn't offer much beyond its modest evolutions and through-n-through cogent chill. But the cogent chill is chill, and it does excel as an eerie+easy exercise for beat-construction dissection: stern and simple booming bass pulse here, picayune percussion/scratches for contrast there, maybe throw in some clarion drones, in comes the repetitive two-note guitar part. I dig a repetitive two-note guitar part too, and they've got 'em in spades -- if only they varied from song to song. 5.5/10
Richie Brains - Who is Richie Brains?
The title's self-questioning has apparently been answered with the unveiling of a seven-piece electronic supergroup who are particularly proficient in the domain of drum&bass; so when it feels jumbled perhaps therein lies a reason, but when they customarily cook up quality compositions that are dynamic+frantic+exploratory it comes as no surprise and everything's gonna be alright. Pop-ups spots from thick-Brit-accented MCs are accommodated awesomely, it generally encourages bustin' a move (albeit quite the accelerated bustin') yet the spacier dabbles are worthy as well, plus heavy and/or wacky intricacy kinda never ceases. As anticipated from the introductory robot-in-sunglasses funk and pitched-down catchphrases, they undoubtedly tote a knack for tongue-in-cheek muck-ups of the tilts toward trite: ominous synth hums and ghastly gunshots segueing into a munchkin's "get ya hands up", echo chambers/space launchings/a dizzying 500 mph beat saving "Heartbreaker" from becoming too legit, etc. 7/10
Huerco S. - For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)
Its warm and scratchy ambiance is sweet to soak in, pretty much no complaints about obscured-n-shuffling dub-beats or glimmering keys, the murky and oft-childlike aqua-dream aura is somehow enigmatic+rigid yet affectionate+bouncy; but seldom does a track seem worthy of its usual 6+minutes or steer clear of eventual stagnation. Maybe the most splendid cut is perhaps also the most simplistic: "Promises of Fertility", which is reassuring as its title and prime RPG-house material to boot. 6/10
Sumac - What One Becomes
At their best when razing everything in sight, which is admittedly often. The low-end riffage is more sickeningly crushing than most but certainly no crutch -- they groove hard no matter the speed and care a bit about melodies, whip out lotsa twists-n-turns, bassin' and drummin' are particularly superb, Aaron Turner's renowned roaring is righteous. But all the fidgeting, the breaks to seemingly just stand there for a moment, the momentum-maiming paths towards Whereverville, kinda just plugging stuff in for a minute or so? Concision obvz ain't their predilection at 5 tracks in nearly an hour, but a number of these traipsing detours are just plain excess, if not cumbersome. Their peak of solidifying the ol' groove+melody admixture is the 5-minute shutdown of the massive "Blackout", which eventually moves on to razing everything in sight. But how we got there, I'm not quite sure. 6.5/10
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Big Thief - Masterpiece 6/10
Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts ~*~meh~*~
Mitski - Puberty 2 7/10
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