2018 pt. 16+17

Amnesia Scanner - Another Life

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

///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

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

///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
*******HIGHEST RECS*******

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

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

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

///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

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

///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

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

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

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

///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

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

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