I initially wanted to write about the new GZA, Pro Tools, why you ask? Because some reviews are saying that it sounds a lot like Legend of Liquid Swords...,* and when was that a bad thing? The Wu-Tang clan and their splintered solo releases never were really about breaking new ground, but staying true their to cult fame. They own a place in history and the fact that the Wu are still around, losses aside; is a statement in itself.
On the flip side, I have a really hard time defending the status of the real-time southern scene, and to completely honest, I struggle with Lil’ Wayne and T.I. They have a few bright spots in their respective repertoire’s, (Earthquake/ The King Back), but it’s as much the production’s winning effort, as the lyrical jockey riding it. Differences aside, I really have got to give some love to Pusha-T, who is one of the most underrated rappers in one of the most underachieving crews. His Clipse patriot Malice join MC’s Ab-Liva and Sandman to fill out their first Re-Up Gang LP, Clipse Present: Re-Up Gang. The best tracks, “Million Dollar Corner” and “Been Through So Much,” are formulaic but successful in comparison to the sixteen-and-over synth approach that define the album’s failures. I am waiting for the next Clipse release for some redemption.
One album that actually has started to get under my skin is the newest Nappy Roots release, Humdinger. While the club scene tracks “Flex,” “Fresh,” and “Panic Room,” remind me of why my southern sympathies feel like an outcast, Humdinger also never forgets where it came from. There is an emotional tone on the album's worthwhile tracks because they find themselves in their surroundings. I 've been really digging on, “On My Way To Georgia,” “No Static” ft. Greg Nice and "Small Town," which are a mix of southern comfort with a dash of sweet tea in comparison to those hastily delivered from the bottom shelf. The single's are respectable, “Good Day” reminds me of De La Soul’s "Trying People" (Bionix), as the feel good track with a children's choir present to lift the spirits, while “Down and Out” ft. Anthony Hamilton keeps the groove alive. It might not be my the best thing I have come across this year, but what's a diamond in the rough if you don’t get a lil' dirty? Check this one out.
* To be honest, the guitar riffs/beat on "Stay in Line" ft. Santi White (Legend) and "0 % Finance" (Pro), do sound uncomfortably similar.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Profana en Oakland
So I’ve been listening to the new Morbosidad Profana la Cruz del Nazareno. They play a vicious style of black metal inspired by bands like Blasphemy, and they finish the album with a Sarcofago cover! If you know what I mean, then you know.
Most black metal albums create a vast amount of space to dwell within and gather strength over time. Morbosidad are grounded through the vocal arrangements, mostly because their death metal pacing and dynamics don’t create an overarching voice. Vocalist Tomas Stench layers his vocals from torrential heighs to seething depths, and on Profana, Morbosidad keep all the spike-pierced death for an uncompromising work of black metal.
Songs like "Posiedo Por El Diablo" and "Templo de Lucifer" flash their early black/thrash allegiance, while "Inmortalidad Diabolica's" vocal intro presents a foreboding place of ritual. For those who love black metal burning down the speedometer, this is for you.
Most black metal albums create a vast amount of space to dwell within and gather strength over time. Morbosidad are grounded through the vocal arrangements, mostly because their death metal pacing and dynamics don’t create an overarching voice. Vocalist Tomas Stench layers his vocals from torrential heighs to seething depths, and on Profana, Morbosidad keep all the spike-pierced death for an uncompromising work of black metal.
Songs like "Posiedo Por El Diablo" and "Templo de Lucifer" flash their early black/thrash allegiance, while "Inmortalidad Diabolica's" vocal intro presents a foreboding place of ritual. For those who love black metal burning down the speedometer, this is for you.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Perspective Massing
The new Ceremony, Still Nothing Moves You*, arrived the other week and has been on strong rotation. It doesn’t expand from their previous release, Scared People, as much as it completes it. Their growth from a mature EP to LP goes through without a hitch and has brought my apartment moshing to the extent that neighbors are gathering at my door, but what I really want to get after though is the new Have Heart.
Songs to Scream at the Sun is off the same label, Bridge Nine, as Ceremony which gave them the credibility from the start. I don’t think it stands up to Still’s intensity, but Songs to Scream still provides plenty of tension in comparison. Have Heart chooses a hard-core ethic rooted in straight-edge, honest family values and failures. On "Bostons” vocalist Patrick Flynn gets the floor to scream “So I could be the boy you couldn’t be / And father you didn’t care to see / Have the youth you did not get to live / Or feel the love this world forgot to give," which sums up what this album is all about. The band's identity comes full circle with platoon background vocals that resound through out the album on tracks like “Hard Bark On The Family Tree” and “Brotherly Love.” They never fully explodes into power-violence speed, but their melodies are heavy and drawn out, which makes Songs to Scream something to be reckoned with. The blasting-proletariat-surge ahead never comes to full force, instead Have Heart stands at a breaking point and refuses to move. I’ll give Ceremony the nod between the two but Songs to Scream is just as strong.
I was apparently mistaken when I announced that the release would be called The Full Length.
Songs to Scream at the Sun is off the same label, Bridge Nine, as Ceremony which gave them the credibility from the start. I don’t think it stands up to Still’s intensity, but Songs to Scream still provides plenty of tension in comparison. Have Heart chooses a hard-core ethic rooted in straight-edge, honest family values and failures. On "Bostons” vocalist Patrick Flynn gets the floor to scream “So I could be the boy you couldn’t be / And father you didn’t care to see / Have the youth you did not get to live / Or feel the love this world forgot to give," which sums up what this album is all about. The band's identity comes full circle with platoon background vocals that resound through out the album on tracks like “Hard Bark On The Family Tree” and “Brotherly Love.” They never fully explodes into power-violence speed, but their melodies are heavy and drawn out, which makes Songs to Scream something to be reckoned with. The blasting-proletariat-surge ahead never comes to full force, instead Have Heart stands at a breaking point and refuses to move. I’ll give Ceremony the nod between the two but Songs to Scream is just as strong.
I was apparently mistaken when I announced that the release would be called The Full Length.
Monday, August 4, 2008
More of the Summer
Last year the Long Blondes debut Someone To Drive You Home struck a chord with me. The UK has tons of dance-hall rock, but every year a new band seems to grab my attention and offer a slant on the sound. Someone was naive as it was seductive and I can’t help but feel the same way about Ida Maria’s Fortress Round My Heart. The album’s killer opener, “Oh My God,” just might contend for single of the year. The chorus and song title off “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” shows the band’s age, but also was their biggest hit in the UK. What really draws me to this album is her voice. Ida's professions cry, cringe, and wail without resignation, and Fortress is better for it.
I have to say something about the new Kaki King, Dreaming of Revenge. The album unfolds like a moonlit-walk-home that has put me to bed for a good part of the 08’. Revenge holds you in a daze, without Kaki letting her guitar skills break the mood. Tracks like “Sad America” and “Montreal” set the luminous scene, while album single, “Pull Me Out Alive” is an familiar break. Look for her on the road with John Darnielle, who has her slated to open for The Mountain Goats this fall.
I have to say something about the new Kaki King, Dreaming of Revenge. The album unfolds like a moonlit-walk-home that has put me to bed for a good part of the 08’. Revenge holds you in a daze, without Kaki letting her guitar skills break the mood. Tracks like “Sad America” and “Montreal” set the luminous scene, while album single, “Pull Me Out Alive” is an familiar break. Look for her on the road with John Darnielle, who has her slated to open for The Mountain Goats this fall.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Ice Cream Spiritual
I hear summer's old fireworks, my blaring alarm, and single rotating fan. Jumping off the couch, I scourer for my keys, and slam off the alarm. It’s 2 p.m. on a Saturday, and I am late for a date with rocky-road ice cream.
I havn't eaten anything for the past three days, (it's the price you pay when trapped in a washing machine); so I swipe up half a jug of Gatorade and a box of Fruity Pebbles before running out the front door. The July heat reminds me that I forgot to change out of my soggy Fugazi t-shirt and tie-dye Puma's, as I down the last bit of power juice with a mouth full of pebbles. After a couple minutes, or maybe more, my course drifts towards the sun. I go flying past the dairy parlor, and head for the river.
*check out the new Ponytail
I havn't eaten anything for the past three days, (it's the price you pay when trapped in a washing machine); so I swipe up half a jug of Gatorade and a box of Fruity Pebbles before running out the front door. The July heat reminds me that I forgot to change out of my soggy Fugazi t-shirt and tie-dye Puma's, as I down the last bit of power juice with a mouth full of pebbles. After a couple minutes, or maybe more, my course drifts towards the sun. I go flying past the dairy parlor, and head for the river.
*check out the new Ponytail
The Long and Short
I want to say a little something about the new Iron Lung, Sexless // No Sex. They are easily one of my first power violence bands, and it’s great to see them still breathing life into the scene.
I first heard of them when they were playing Reno, before they moved to their current location in Seattle. A friend from school hooked me up with an Iron Lung/Lana Dagales split (2002), and it caved in my chest. They were just a two-piece (guitar/drum) band, but produced some of most horrific Punk I had ever heard.
Sexless reveals just how much the band has grown up. It runs three times longer than the split, and closes with the almost three minute long “Cancer,” moving along at a sludge pace. Don’t get me wrong, songs like “Contested” and “Liars” taste like steel-toed boots, and the album never comes close to sounding compromised. The guitar work is more diverse, from the complex and abrasive riffs on “Autojector,” to the spiraling melodies on “Lumbar Puncture Test," the attack takes new shapes, and with solid drums and vocals filling out the weight, Iron Lung take their songs to greater lengths.
A part of me misses the lo-fi "basement" production and industrial samples, but the core of the sound here is unmistakably Iron Lung. Is it really possible for a power violence band to sell out anyway? I don’t know how much longer Sexless // No Sex will be in print, so get to it.
I first heard of them when they were playing Reno, before they moved to their current location in Seattle. A friend from school hooked me up with an Iron Lung/Lana Dagales split (2002), and it caved in my chest. They were just a two-piece (guitar/drum) band, but produced some of most horrific Punk I had ever heard.
Sexless reveals just how much the band has grown up. It runs three times longer than the split, and closes with the almost three minute long “Cancer,” moving along at a sludge pace. Don’t get me wrong, songs like “Contested” and “Liars” taste like steel-toed boots, and the album never comes close to sounding compromised. The guitar work is more diverse, from the complex and abrasive riffs on “Autojector,” to the spiraling melodies on “Lumbar Puncture Test," the attack takes new shapes, and with solid drums and vocals filling out the weight, Iron Lung take their songs to greater lengths.
A part of me misses the lo-fi "basement" production and industrial samples, but the core of the sound here is unmistakably Iron Lung. Is it really possible for a power violence band to sell out anyway? I don’t know how much longer Sexless // No Sex will be in print, so get to it.
A Guilty Pleasure
It's been a nasty good time over the past week, though when I try to tell my friends about it, they either cringe in disgust, or smile out of shock. My omission, the new Cliteater album is great, not to mention finger-licking fun.
Extreme genres like gore/porno-grind gorge not only on controversial topics like death and murder, but also sexual violence. While this pushes against my musical limitations, I have to admit there is a part of me that believes these guys are joking around, especially with songs titles like “Bruce-Dick-In-Son?” It would seem obvious on one hand to take the genre as seriously as the Braindead flims that influence them.
At the same time, it’s not really hard to believe that people would be up in arms about an album titled Scream Bloody Clit. If the genre's intentions are real, I feel that the themes are justified, in the sense that they aren’t advocating sexual violence, but showing it’s horrible realities from a brutally uncompromising perspective. Though this might be an uncomfortable conversation topic, it's dismissal is what the genre is challenging. It reveals crimes committed in daily life, and silently tolerated, in the workplace, home, school, and church. The themes and imagery of extreme metal are both comically and essentially, a kind of radical protest, reflecting these horrible acts as an opposition to the solidarity between violent sexual deviance and social control.
Back to the lecture at hand…
Cliteater stick to their guts on Scream, blending gore tropes with early grind/punk inspired riffs. They choose not to blast along the entire way, which by comparative standards makes for a more accessible listening experience. They have added a new guitarist (Susan Gerl ), to beef up the guitar tone. It’s great to see women on the music side of Metal, especially in gore-grind, a sub-genre where men dominate gender identity. If you don’t know the name Joost Silvrants (Inhume), you don’t know guttural vocals. He possesses an obscene range, and I was blown away when I first heard that he doesn’t use any pitch shifting. On “Impulse to Destruct” Joost takes the opportunity during the bridge to just go schizophrenic at the helm, spitting and screaming in every direction. There are some pitch-shifting vocals, used by the guitarist (Ivan Cuijpers), and are placed as dynamic punches before the band plunges into sonic oblivion. The comedic series “Positive Aspects Of Collective Chaos,” is kept alive with "Part III," ending to the sound of an accordion. Cliteater also has done a consummate job at borrowing from other Metal genres to diversify the album, like thrash metal (“Your Mouth, My Seed”), death metal (“Obese Obsession”), and death n’ roll (“Pedophiliac Cult”). While Cliteater's themes might be hard to swallow and their sound might turn your stomach over, Scream Bloody Clit is a bloody good time.
I also wanted to briefly give some love to the new Prostitute Disfigurement album, Descedents of Depravity. The high point of the album are the guitars; the songwriting has great flow between the riffs and solos, each holding their own and while playing off each other. The drum performance provided by Michiel van der Plicht is relentless, and the vocals (Niels Adams), are more in the mid-range, which I think it's an overall improvement for the band. Descendents also rocks one of the my favorite song titles so far this year, with “Killing for Company.” Check these out.
Extreme genres like gore/porno-grind gorge not only on controversial topics like death and murder, but also sexual violence. While this pushes against my musical limitations, I have to admit there is a part of me that believes these guys are joking around, especially with songs titles like “Bruce-Dick-In-Son?” It would seem obvious on one hand to take the genre as seriously as the Braindead flims that influence them.
At the same time, it’s not really hard to believe that people would be up in arms about an album titled Scream Bloody Clit. If the genre's intentions are real, I feel that the themes are justified, in the sense that they aren’t advocating sexual violence, but showing it’s horrible realities from a brutally uncompromising perspective. Though this might be an uncomfortable conversation topic, it's dismissal is what the genre is challenging. It reveals crimes committed in daily life, and silently tolerated, in the workplace, home, school, and church. The themes and imagery of extreme metal are both comically and essentially, a kind of radical protest, reflecting these horrible acts as an opposition to the solidarity between violent sexual deviance and social control.
Back to the lecture at hand…
Cliteater stick to their guts on Scream, blending gore tropes with early grind/punk inspired riffs. They choose not to blast along the entire way, which by comparative standards makes for a more accessible listening experience. They have added a new guitarist (Susan Gerl ), to beef up the guitar tone. It’s great to see women on the music side of Metal, especially in gore-grind, a sub-genre where men dominate gender identity. If you don’t know the name Joost Silvrants (Inhume), you don’t know guttural vocals. He possesses an obscene range, and I was blown away when I first heard that he doesn’t use any pitch shifting. On “Impulse to Destruct” Joost takes the opportunity during the bridge to just go schizophrenic at the helm, spitting and screaming in every direction. There are some pitch-shifting vocals, used by the guitarist (Ivan Cuijpers), and are placed as dynamic punches before the band plunges into sonic oblivion. The comedic series “Positive Aspects Of Collective Chaos,” is kept alive with "Part III," ending to the sound of an accordion. Cliteater also has done a consummate job at borrowing from other Metal genres to diversify the album, like thrash metal (“Your Mouth, My Seed”), death metal (“Obese Obsession”), and death n’ roll (“Pedophiliac Cult”). While Cliteater's themes might be hard to swallow and their sound might turn your stomach over, Scream Bloody Clit is a bloody good time.
I also wanted to briefly give some love to the new Prostitute Disfigurement album, Descedents of Depravity. The high point of the album are the guitars; the songwriting has great flow between the riffs and solos, each holding their own and while playing off each other. The drum performance provided by Michiel van der Plicht is relentless, and the vocals (Niels Adams), are more in the mid-range, which I think it's an overall improvement for the band. Descendents also rocks one of the my favorite song titles so far this year, with “Killing for Company.” Check these out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)