2018 pt. 16+17

Amnesia Scanner - Another Life

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///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

In true AS fashion they waste no time displaying their demeanor; i.e. bursts of contorted squeal-n-squall so blaring it may make it or break it for just about anyone. But their butchered balance of contortions and The Club is still the handy silver lining, and on a full-length following a pair of increasingly intriguing EPs they've further harnessed the knack. Ugly, fierce, abruptly acerbic, disorienting, yet its danceability and vividity can't be diminished; and even the meandering cool-downs usually wind up blowing your head off. And as relief for all those altered-pitch garble vox, let's hand it to Pan Daijing for some still-bizarre lucidity that's analogous to the project at hand: "Last year was a KO / What a complete KO", "All around you it's just AS AS AS". Whatever gets you movin'. 8/10

Bamba Pana - Poaa

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///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

An endurance tester and epic assault, fusing ruthless repetition that's best reserved for masochists with enough velocity and waggishness to bemuse even the biggest bummer. So right, I think it's a blood-pumping hoot. The one overtly sung-over rendition here is a welcome change but goes to show these instrumentals are likely better left on their outrageous own -- rigid+protracted as they may be they also offer constant vigor and a galloping-n-busy blur worth immersin' your brain in. Never underestimate the pummel-power of primitive patterns all pilin' on ya at once, particularly when it's this playful. 8/10

Denzel Curry - TA13OO
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Solidifies Zel's transition from Soundcloud standout to illustrious luminary. He could almost get by on ferocity alone, but salient+savored here is upping the lyrical lucidity and formidable flow-n-flows and versatile vision on the whole. Poppier and smoother ventures truly pop; and when he pokes holes in peer's propensities for buck-stuffed pockets and percs and depression-as-nifty-demeanor it's keen and catchy as hell. And as much as "Sirens" seems like a singular flutterer that faces the frustration of today's fucked up world, let's hand it to him for ending it on a demonic note and classifying America as a fort. But "Donald Trump / Donald Duck / What the fuck / is the difference"? Dat duck deserves better. 7.5/10

Death Grips - Year of the Snitch
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Complaints of tone-downs or muddling are reasonable, but if you ask me this is batty and boisterous as ever. All at once desultory, disorienting, anthemic, absurd; this is a group that's increasingly cocky and curious and cryptic and prolific and not givin' a shit since melding their aggro with the portent of pop promise on The Money Store six years ago. Currently it seems less about Ride's rants and full-on frenzy and more set on sketchy-n-spastic assemblages that regularly make you wonder how you got here from there, enough so it's difficult to still designate as hip-hop. Brandishing an Andrew Adamson cameo and an outro before the weirdo-hardcore outro, part of the thrill here is the continued uncertainty after alotta listens. Other part is it's a sonic hoot, duh. 7.5/10

Hamell On Trial - The Night Guy at the Apocalypse: Profiles of a Rushing Midnight

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///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

From what I understand Hamell is now long clean, but oh how convincingly he can still play the madcap fucked up miscreant. Figure fragments are factual experiences from a former era of his and the bulk be tall tales that are terrifying, vivid, hilarious, arguably ethically sound most of the time -- hey, could likely be real somewhere. But enjoying Nick Cave on new levels when he's high as the moon or living+dying for drug deals and bar brawls or hangin' with some shady sorts in his time I could see, murdering a pedophile D.A. with the assistance of a selfie-prone masturbating companion; doubtfully ever his bag. In either case though he'll spin one hell of a yarn, and the solo rough-n-raw rover man recording corresponds all too perfectly to his road-made realm: the near-always present bar filled with friendly-til-they're-not felons, loaded with fucks and fights and filth with a few flubs to boot, and right, blood everywhere. Pimp grenaded, Nazi "cut from cock to chin", numerous other lowlifes dragged/drowned/slapped/burned/sniped/whathaveyou. Bandcamp note from the single song that dares to break out a crude drum machine: "Recorded Nov 20, 2017 in Jeff Onore's closet Boston Mass". 8.5/10

Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury

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///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

Vile Luxury turns out to be a rather valid synopsis of the deportment within; i.e. clangin' and bangin' blackened death metal that torments/disorients/enthralls with its formidable tangle of technicality, tenacity, capacity, strange structuring, and of course, utter filth. Really runs the gamut in its own inimitable way: slow and sparse sections met with mind-boggling barrages, horns-n-piano used for straight jazz breakdowns and stumbling into a sleazy lounge at 3 a.m. and emulating some sort of preposterous parade, frontbeast Ezrin's near-comical slime-growl contrasted with Yoshiko Ohara's absurdly bloodcurdling guest shrieks. Seemingly glad to stumble over their own skill so long as the resulting slop adds to the frenzy, and right, they scare the shit out of me too. 8/10

Nicki Minaj - Queen

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So much talk of this being an overstuffed+substandard past-her-prime product -- I call it an imperfect tour de force with a little help/harm from her friends. Sure Labrinth and Eminem make "Majesty" a bonafide bungle either way you look at it, but thankfully it's over with early on; and despite some dips into the generic the remaining near-hour is brimmin' with hits, knowhow, and lolz. Her adaptability and self-assurance make it: bars-n-rhymes over bangers are clearly her forte but the r&b is convincing; she goes head to head with Foxy Brown and complements Ariana Grande; zens her body via abstinence then boasts about her valuable vag that you'll need a kneepad to orally stimulate. Half cartoon half superstar, half vicious half vulnerable -- makes many-a rapper comparably seem like a little dustball. 8/10

Santigold - I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions

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///GOLD-FUCKING-FIRE\\\

As the season's first legit snow starts to pile up here in Massachusetts it's all too suitable to take solace in Santigold's tropical-island transmissions. Eternally exuding sunshine and spunk, her tude and enunciations and sack full-a irresistible hooks seem particularly piece-o-cake on these apparently subsidiary sessions. Simultaneously robotic and elastic, cutesy and peculiar, cheeky and cheery. Much props also due to front-2-back producer Dre Skull; whose uniquely uniform beats help make this a tight+true ten trax. Can I assume this is finally the 'dancehall' I've been hearing so much about? 7.5/10

Elza Soares - Deus e Mulher

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Perceptibly less dramatic than being at the end of the world two years ago; this can comparably come off like the casual b-siders of that same session. But in case you forgot these ain't just any sessioners -- Latin grooves meet post-punk righteously right down the middle and distinguish every tune along the way, a brew of schooled+eccentric instrumentation that has trouble not tantalizingly twisting the ears at any given moment. Elza's geriatric gravel, 'specially in Portuguese, apparently ain't for everyone. At the very least read her Wiki and respect how she somehow got right here right now aight? Isn't her fronting dark-n-fun jazz-punk the way it's just meant to be? Given the cackles that end "Hienas Na TV" and how snug she fits into its chase-scene-esque smash precursor, I think she should look into becoming a Disney villain. 8/10

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Aphex Twin - Collapse [EP] 7/10

Aux Field - Square Landscapes 7/10

Blood Orange - Negro Swan 5/10

Brockhampton - Iridescence 7/10

Dorian Concept - The Nature of Imitation 7/10

Elephant Micah - Genericana 6/10

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V 6.5/10

Stern - Missive: Sister Ships 6.5/10

Vince Staples - FM! [EP] 5.5/10

Windhand - Eternal Return 7/10

Yves Tumor - Safe in the Hands of Love 6.5/10

2018 pt. 14+15

The Carters - Everything is Love

Double Fantasy this ain't -- Jay and Yonce's coupled collab is essentially an exercise in stated+sonic opulence, their lifestyle and story and mutual affection safely amorphous besides a few distinct-yet-dubious detail-drops, and even during back-n-forth bickering over some bygone shit it never seems like they're really in the same room. "I don't give a damn about the fame", right; now plz bless us with more boring brags about your collective assets and status. But they as dynamic vet team and all dat money are persuasive, particularly when the bills are going towards the beats. Neither of em access the candor or character achieved on respective recent solo releases, but transmitting its own sort of magnetism is them casually killin' it while simultaneously kinda just mailing it in. Can they still cling to street authenticity? Are they truly stressing over false arrests? Is Beyonce really dropping her daughter off at school personally? They're big enough to make you ponder it, and it's pretty easy to be reminded as to why. 7/10

Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

Talbot's strength lies in snotty singalongee snarler rather than wise wordsmith; hence when spouting social-political usually the sentiment is greater than the articulation: calls for unity and loving yourself yet kicking "douches" in the mouth and classifying someone as "one big neck with sausage hands" for example. And hey I hate homophobes too, but professing to puttin' em in coffins akin to a wrestler is basically pure bro-talk. But beefy punk din and dirty bass lines and gangbuster choruses galore are their true bread-n-butter. And after seeing Idles in the flesh and watching a dozen-or-so vintage hardcore tuffs ardently shout along with "A beautiful immigrant" and "I kissed a boy and I liked it", I supposed sentiment is sometimes enough. A penchant for spelling is nice too. 8/10

Mitski - Be the Cowboy

Decidedly designed to be a dead-set for Mitski, palpably polished+punchier while pushing for a sort of pithy pop-rock perfection. Which, in its own prudent and persona-pressing way, it kinda accomplishes. But starting suitably with the introductory explosion of "Geyser" is a feeling that a tunna the tunes are cut short prematurely, or more precisely, just outta caution. I applaud her song-set solidarity and grounded grandiosity and linkin' of lush/loud/tender, but it becomes a bit guarded-gone-drab. A husband-n-wife sticking together is the jocose jaunt surrounded by deadpan-desperate seekings of affection+attention, the depth is dubious, the distinction is there, the disco is real. To be honest, could use more power chords. 7/10

Meg Myers - Take Me to the Disco

Seldom will I say this, but I kinda wish this actually took me to the disco -- instead we're stranded in the endlessly dully dour with diddly-squat for diversity or character. Traits include strained made-for-TV angst, some of the most foreseeable quiet-loud formulas and obnoxiously explosive choruses this side of 1995, wringing said choruses dry, vox and song-paces so narrow+monotonous it's laughable. Looking back, many-a trait that were there on her last one. But long gone is the creeping carnality turned to threats of murder and the hook-stuffed shark-chomp miracle quirk of "Lemon Eyes" and any attempt at pep. Also good for a laugh are guest vox provided by one "Leggy" on the aptly titled "The Death of Me". ~*~meh~*~

Nmesh and t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 - ロストエデンへのパス (2015 release)

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

At a rate of an hour per producer this is undoubtedly a longwinded pilgrimage, one that's largely slow-mo atmospherics to boot. Hence it may be smart to split accordingly -- but no matter how ya spin it this offers a whole lotta expanse to get lost in. Simultaneously cinematic and footloose, many-a selection here tends to induce an eternity you're content with, whether it be Nmesh's 6 minutes or Telepath's 22. But the spacious flow on the whole is the true phenomena: think wandering through a Japanese rainforest saturated with mystery and mist and insects, warily camping under a waterfall with a mind full-a fever dreams and flashbacks, celestiality and murk joining forces, weeping melodies turned wondrous. Nice when an actual beat pops in, too -- not necessarily necessary but nice. 8.5/10

Rico Nasty - Nasty

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Tho she does dabble in the carnal don't assume she's Cupcakke type nasty -- Rico Raspy or Rico Rejector may be more accurate. Your bae pressin' her is more of a haughty hassle than a situation worth wallowing in; and rather than recite knotty-n-cunning wordplay she's good getting by on tuff spittle-spraying tude and aggressive ad-libs alone. Too cynical and severe for crossover pop potential but leans into it anyway; "Ice Cream" in particular being a standout sweetener for all that surl while winningly wielding all-too-obvious truck-type tunage. A while later is when Lil Gnar's gnar finally calls for the mosh pit its numerous metal leans hinted towards, only to be soon out-raged by Rico herself times four-or-so. And for the record, best bedroom boast goes to one BlocBoy JB: "I get ass like a chair". 8/10

Snail Mail - Lush

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

From a foolhardy afar I suspected Lindsey Jordan would be just another strummer in the considerable herd of overhyped 90s hark-back singer-songwriters. And in some ways she sorta just is. But the tactfulness of her songwriting+tonage sneaks up on you, the emotion elicited ineluctable and free of bombast. And despite drowning a bit in convention and the nondescript emotional-struggle doldrums, she's wise well beyond her sub-twenty years: tunes steadily stripped back and clear-cut, bonafide and bored without being boring, despondent with drive. This is homespun purity harnessed and honed, an overhaul that doesn't overdo it -- plenty of time left for that methinks. 7.5/10

Tierra Whack - Whack World

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

///BRAV-WHACKING-O\\\

Epitome of charm and palpable potential that both sustains and suffers cuz of its novelty -- i.e. the all being fifteen one-minute motifs; each of em distinguishable and delightful with a semi-centered trio of deceased dogs/bird-flipping yokeldom/Mario as the capstone, the bookends of which even incorporating a meow and Luigi for good measure. Give this a go in video form and jointly it feels more like a genuinely proper project, as a straight listen however it can't help but feel like a tease with its explicitly terse tunes. Heck of a preview nonetheless. 7.5/10

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Between the Buried and Me - Automata II 6.5/10

Cruel Diagonals - Disambiguation ~*~meh~*~

Drake - Scorpion 5.5/10

Drumloop - Revenge Body [EP] 5/10

Jay Rock - Redemption 6/10

Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears 7/10

Lotic - Power ~*~meh~*~

Luxury Elite - Prism 7/10

Obscura - Diluvium 6.5/10

RP Boo - I'll Tell You What! 7/10

Soulwax - Essential 6.5/10

YG - Stay Dangerous 5.5/10