Black Anvil - As Was
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
For some aging hardcore heads, they sure do present quite the rippin' metal mixture -- pretty blackened through-n-through, but they whip up choice cleans and soaring harmonies as handily as the ol dense-n-dirty snarl&thrash; oft in the same song. A propensity for heavy metal classicism also protrudes, hence the mosh-prone stomp riffs and lengthy motorcycle-on-the-highway guitar solos that shred right on through the fade-out. 7.5/10
Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound
Seems unfair in a way to complain and claim it as tame -- overall it's a successful softening of their acerbity and an angst-punk maturation that doesn't forsake their roots or mope too much in Cheeseville. But alas, tame it does feel: oft enjoyable as it is, it also comes off a bit flat-n-formulaic; tuneful and snarly as they can be, they've done both better on projects more ambitious+arresting. 6.5/10
Code Orange - Forever
I applaud its labored-over low-end crushing heaviness and appreciate their apparent ambition for a band whose sound mostly just conveys moshing and/or breaking jaws. And guitar-n-vocal fx that sound like a cat attack or shots of static or malfunctioning electrical equipment, sure, I'm in. So given the number of awkward+unnecessary transitions and dubious dives into industrial electro/singular almost-indie-pop moment/plainspoken vox that make this quite the jumble, I suppose I'll consider ambition chief culprit. But the taxing tough-guy throat shredding, those same ol 'chug chug really high note' chestnuts, the trudges through foreseen breakdowns while gettin' called a motherfucker before 'em -- eventually and predominately, just kind of a tedious demeanor either way. 5/10
Brian Eno - Reflection
App-fueled autopilot ambience that's pleasant enough but so stubbornly stagnant. With acknowledgment that this rumination likely exists as a why-not prototype or simple illustrative exercise -- and that Eno is eternally da man no matter what -- this is just too much of a tedious near-hour, too uneventful to reward dive-in listens. But as some innocuous background sound? No problem I spose. Something that just sits there and adjusts every so often while you just kinda sit there? Eh, certainly could be worse but most definitely could be better. Playin' it pure is cool and all, but take last year's 'The Ship' for example. Had a bit of this but also, like, did stuff. Cool stuff. ~*~meh~*~
Japandroids - Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Particularly when compared to the sweat-drenched fireworks-clad singalong wingding epic that was its predecessor, this comes off a bit stale and softened and sappy -- still blaring for a guitar-drum two-piece with melodic fuzz and choruses certainly worth celebrating, still skilled at stirring up emotion and woahs+yeahs, but easing up musically tends to let the vocal rhapsodizing engulf. Then you get female barkeeps servin' up smooches and a "give em hell" upon his embarkment to somewhere far away, passionate and poetic-bout-life whiskey words cheesy-n-earnest enough to make you gag, the self-proclaimed status as a holy roller when the "cool hard beauty" starts crashing at his place. A couple too short, a couple too long; most infamous of the latter has gotta be the anomalous "Arc of Bar". Surprisingly pretty winning with its buzz-synth crush and a slowdown strut that somehow successfully sells the vision of jokers dealing cards and rooms galore full-a whores in a diamond dust fantasy land. Ah, but then there's doin' the devil (quite the) favor for her love and "those damned mosquitoes". 6.5/10
Lancer - Mastery
Perhaps this stuff is just getting harder to stomach for me -- so sillily shrill and triumphant -- but the more palpable problem with this particular pile of power-metal not-quite-mastery is how much it suffers from blandness via aping. Helloween+Iron Maiden bitin' is immediately overt and firmly implanted, and they get stuck in a somewhat soulless by-the-book box where they don't bother to reveal much identity of their own or attempt any exciting new extremes; plus they can go pretty hard on the sillily shrill. But as with most anything speedy and vociferous and riffy and competently catchy, it offers up an enjoyable enough ride with adequate balladry-n-cooldown skillz. Also noted as relevant was the rockin' coinage of a nickname for the leaders of our "21st century corrupted supremacy" ("Freedom Eaters") followed up by the so-cold so-sad droop of us all "going down, down, down to the world unknown". But 4 real, listen up when singer-man says "former gods" on "Iscariot", then go listen to Helloween's "Twilight of the Gods". Another track name on here: "Envy of the Gods". 5/10
Migos - Culture
Wince and shrug your way through the kinda-generics of DJ Khaled yelling about fuckboys and an enjoyable but rather vapid hit single, and eventually you'll come upon the dark and unavoidably alluring actual-culture conqueror hit single "Bad and Boujee"; stick around some more and you'll get to official barnburner "Big On Big" which sets a heavier+preferable precedent for the remainder. Lyrically they barely reside outside the ol auto tune trap-trope bubble and rarely spit a line I'd call compelling, but their triad dynamic and hot potato ad-libs and constant catchiness make ya not care too much. Certainly nice tho that when handed the big-gone-towering beats they can toughen up to them too -- after taking on the staggering "Deadz" with a splendid "UH OOO" hook and rabid back-to-back Takeoff+Offset verses, I'd say a song called "All Ass" is permissible. Especially since they close with a sincere shoutout for all of their considerate lady friends that nears sweetheart status ("Head full of hair but the cat well-groomed": aw!). Notable guest spots include a sheisty-n-shiny Gucci Mane, a coke-liced Travis Scott, and a blue cheese lovin' Lil Uzi Vert. 7/10
Run the Jewels - RTJ3
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
El-P is the kind-uh dude who starts a verse proclaiming each new LP is his cock in a crate and ends it with a clip-o-wifey halting him from calling said cock a unicorn horn, Killer Mike the man whose mama hurls dinnerware at him for swearin' and smokin'; perhaps rightfully so. Yet as a no-plan tag team they've dealt out heavy+hectic hip-hop that's progressively more portentous-n-incensed-n-proficient with each release despite a lack of stylistic and cover-art diversity, and on this tertiary try they feel more extensive than ever. Both the topically distressed and utterly ridic are thoughtful+biting, detail and aggression fine-tuned, quite the pickin' of prominent hooks (rapid fire spell-out, generic telecaster man, barefaced "I'm the shit bitch"), an assortment of prosperous guest spots (Kamasi Washington with some sober sax for unforgotten friends in the grave, Danny Brown for the kids and xtra zaniness, ender employment of Zach De La Rocha and Nadya Tolokonnikova for xtra politi-rage.) And as a duo that's putting this out there to kick off 2017 -- "Coming soon on a new world tour / Probably play the score for the world war / At the apocalypse play the encore" -- they may be the most feasible. Additional kudos for the packaged cute lil stickers and revealing lyric sheet. 8/10
Superficie - Hélices [EP] (late 2016 release)
Thumpin' electro terseness that consists chiefly of percussion and secondly of monosyllabic grunts+gasps, with the occasional wisp/whoosh/jab of synth sound and some broken glass for good measure. File this under the increasingly intriguing intermixture of bustling kinda-bizarro club jams and stripped back jungle-esque primitivity. Pair-o-remixes also available for those aching for an increase in synth sound or fire alarms. 7/10
The xx - I See You
A bit more in the way of beat-bulk is welcomed here, finding a sweet spot in between their matter-of-course cool-pop minimalism and the more dance-club ready efforts from the beat boy's recent rainbow-clad solo record. And though they still surely showcase knacks for mood+simplicity and manage a few genuine gems, this middle ground has 'em losing some distinction; vocal dueling once seducing and tired kinda gone just tired. They never repeat the iffy generics of opener "Dangerous", but more often than not plainness eclipses their enticement. My Not of choice that's also the easiest being "I Dare You", Not of choice that's also the dreamiest being "Replica" -- so it should be no surprise when I think there's more flops amid the less lively. 6.5/10
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Bonobo - Migration 6/10
Kehlani - SweetSexySavage 6/10
Sinai Vessel - Brokenlegged 6.5/10
Tornado Wallace - Lonely Planet 7/10
