Childish Gambino - Because The Internet

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Donald Glover has been a busy man.  At only 30 years old, he has achieved success in almost every artistic endeavor he has taken on.  Writing for the wildly successful “30 Rock”, playing college student Troy Barnes on NBC’s Community, all the while writing and recording under the stage name “Childish Gambino” (the name was supposedly the product of a Wu Tang Clan name generator). 

As rappers go, Glover dwells somewhere between Busdriver and a super self aware Drake.  His new album “Because the Internet” is as meta as it gets. with Admiral Akbar references, some of the best puns and punch lines put to beats, and with actual writing talent to back up his new found confident delivery.  Even when he sounds unsure, it doesn’t detract from the album, it almost adds the depth that Glover has become known for in most of his work.

There is something endearing about Glovers lyrics even at his most boastful moments.  Maybe its because he DOES legitimately get money, but never finds the need to strait up say “I get money” or “I f***ed some b****es”.  That kind of stereotypical self-assurance seems beneath him.  Instead he finds eloquent ways to say inelegant things. “More green than my whole foods, and I’m too fly, Jeff Goldblum” (which I’m assuming is a pretty cool way to say that one has money, smokes a lot of weed, and is cooler than most, by way of making a reference to a movie that came out when he was 3).  It is also hilarious.  In part because it is hard to imagine Glover as someone other than Troy from “Community”, but also because it does seem like he is several different people over the coarse of “Because the Internet”.  He has no problem expressing self-doubt and even a sense of self-loathing in his lyrics.  Somehow he bounces back from the depths of depression to archaic cultural references delivered by the second (which should be expected from a 30 rock writing alumni flexing his linguistic muscles).

I do get the distinct impression Glover is making fun of other rappers.  Not that he name drops in a negative way, or calls anyone out directly.  Instead he just does nearly every facet of the genre so well that it just seems like he is subconsciously letting everyone else in the rap world know that not only is he going to participate in their game, he is going play it better, and then make new rules.  Hopefully other players can learn them.

Ludwig Göransson (known for his work on Community, New Girl, and Happy Endings)  produced the album with Glover at the mansion of Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh in LA (which Glover would dub “The Temple”). Just today I’ve listened to the album two times in a row.  I wanted to catch the subtleties of the production and the syncopation of the vocals around the spacey, understated and sometimes sparse beats.

In addition to the album itself, On December 6, 2013, Glover released a 75 page screenplay designed to sync with the album. It was revealed on the website becausetheinter.net.  It is safe to say that Glover is serious about his musical career.  Having a laundry list of successes in several mediums, it is anyones guess what he will do next, seeing as he has bounced around from screenwriting, to stand up, to acting, and rapping.  If Donald Glover can continue to be as prolific as he has been over the past few years, we can continue to expect great things.

Listen to "The Worst Guys" By Childish Gambino

Buy "Because the Internet"

Capital Cities – In a Tidal Wave of Mystery

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            Everyone knows the guy who hates “pop” music.  That guy that doesn’t acknowledge the radio exists and doesn’t have a TV.  He scoffs at any album that even hints at a good time, and tells you how whatever it is that you’re listening to around him sounds like these 10 other bands that you’ve never heard, that broke up ten years ago…and how they did it better.  If you’re that guy, I apologize (kind of).  It is great to be knowledgeable about music history, and there is something to be said for understanding the bands that may have influenced the current generation of music, but lets not knock other peoples musical tastes.  Plus (yes this is the part where I explain the rant) I’m pretty sure that even the “anti-pop” guy couldn’t resist the quirky charm and self awareness of Capital Cities…and is probably secretly listening to their album “In a Tidal Wave of Mystery” right now.

            Capital Cities is indie-synth pop duo Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian from Los Angeles CA.  Soon after meeting through an open ad for Simonian’s production services, they began writing jingles for commercials together.  After three years of success in commercial composition, they formed Capital Cities.  Already this is an impressive resume for musicians in general.  Most musicians are always looking for work in their field, and few get the chance to make money off their craft.  But commercial composition was merely a gateway for the duo that has now achieved (ahem) commercial success. 

            Their debut full length “In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery” seems like it took every facet of the indie-pop genre, and used the catchiest elements of each.   12 songs later they have an album chock full of (college) radio ready hits.  Their drums are appropriately large, their hooks don’t ever really stop happening (even when they aren’t being sung, they are provided by the instrumental surround the current vocal). They employ every trick in the (proverbial) production handbook, and their experience in the industry shows.

            There are moments on the record where I found myself thinking “are they serious?” and that is the best part.  They aren’t.  They are just making fun pop music, and they know that.  They embrace it.  That is the joy of Capital Cities, they aren’t trying to be something they’re not.  They are not an art-rock band, they’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.  They just put huge rims on it…WITH SPINNERS!  So when critically thinking about the album as a whole, keeping that in mind makes a difference. 

            Every single song on the album could be played on a mainstream radio station, and still keep its merit as a legitimately good song, but be accessible to the masses as well as the “anti-pop” guy (assuming he understands the amount of self awareness involved in the album…lets assume he does, and since he refuses to acknowledge the radio as something that exists, we’ll assume he stumbled across Capital Cities during a visit to his friends house, while Conan O’Brian was on).  Their songs surf the dance beat wave of the 80’s with updated sounds, and employ clean staccato funk guitars and horns in addition to their sizable synth arsenal.  They would be right at home in an early 1980s dance club.   Do you like Andre 3000?  They got him too.  There is a song on the album about things that are awesome, titled “Farrah Fawcett Hair” in which a male NPR sounding announcer says all the things that Capital Cities thinks are awesome.

            If you want a great time, with no pretense or just a feel good album to make shoveling your car out of 6 feet of snow feel okay, pick up Capital Cities “In a Tidal Wave Of Mystery”.

Get your copy of "In A Tidal Wave of Mystery" on Vinyl 

Listen to "I Sold My Bed, Not My Stereo"

The Snowed In Post Rock Playlist

 

Ever find yourself cancelling plans because you can’t shovel your car out from the snow?  The snow that has piled up around all four tires of your rear wheel drive 4 cylinder car?  You could say thanks to the man that plowed half of the one way street you live on…but you wouldn’t…Cause in reality, he has only trapped every car on your street in a 3 foot high ice wall of inconvenience.  So, you could get pissed.  You could try to shovel yourself out to no avail.  Or you could go back inside, admit defeat to your friends that you were going to hang out with, and listen to some moody post rock to take the edge off.  Nothing warms the soul like an atmospheric build.  So when you inevitably find yourself in this EXACT situation, here are 3 songs (or a half hour in post rock time) to patiently listen to while the salt you scattered around your tires works to melt your car’s ice prison.

1.     Sigur Ros - Hoppípolla (Takk) – Hoppipolla is Sigur Ros at their most delicate and beautiful.  The song opens with a fragile piano line that slowly opens up into a gorgeous string arrangement with a textural reverse delay that takes off as soon as the drums are introduced.  This is a song that to this day, every time I hear it, I get goosebumps and a warm feeling in my chest that I can only describe as the pure embodiment of hope.  Despite not knowing what Jonsi is singing about, the music bridges the language gap with its elegant movement.  Two minutes and fifteen seconds into the song, after dynamically dropping to almost nothing, everything comes back in with so much power and grace that it seems to stop time around you.  

                                                                                Buy Sigur Ros

2.      Explosions in the Sky – Postcard from 1952 (Take Care, Take Care, Take Care) – EITS is a band that is continuously evolving and pushing themselves to do different things with the signature sound they have developed.  From giant noisy effected guitars with huge drums, to ambient room sounds with traces of tinkling piano, EITS is moody, but in the best kind of way.  They set the mood, and they take their time doing so.  In Postcard, you get a little bit of everything that makes EITS so cool.  Clocking at a little over 7 minutes (a shorter song for them) Postcard is a good introduction to the prolific post rockers.

                                                            Buy Explosions in the Sky

3.      Godspeed You! Black Emperor – We Drift Like Worried Fire ('Alleujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!) – Godspeed’s most recent album gained them recognition on multiple levels.  Obviously the most important being that the album is fantastic and won critical acclaim on almost every major review.  They won the Polaris Music Prize (a 30,000 dollar check) and promptly mocked the very notion of music awards and the “culture money” that funded it.  They are more punk rock in nature than the most devoted punkers.  'Alleujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is a journey (as are most of their albums),  but We Drift Like Worried Fire is my personal favorite.  In a similar fashion to how EITS showcased their characteristic elements in Postcard, Godspeed has a similar showcase on Worried Fire.  If you’ve never listened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, this is the song to start with. 

 

                                                                         Buy Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Cage the Elephant - Melophobia

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We had a gentleman come into the store last night as I was getting ready to leave.  He asked me “What has come out this month that you really like?”  I felt a little hard pressed to answer with something really new and interesting.   He was pumped to talk to us about stuff he had bought last month from us, (Man Man and Mister Heavenly) which I am proud to say I recommended to him.  However, in that vein of music, it is really hard to find bands like that beyond Islands.  So I told him to let me think about it and get back to him.  Hopefully sir, you are reading this, and can see what I am recommending.  This week’s pick is Cage The Elephant – Melophobia.

I have to put this out there before I start actually talking about the album.  When I heard Cage the Elephant’s first album, I hated it.  It didn’t appeal to me at all and even though there were cool things about it, I had a hard time actually listening to the songs.  They seemed green and uninspired, and quite honestly relied to heavily on studio tricks.  Melophobia is not like that at all.  I would say it sounds like a cross between Islands (on The Arm’s Way) and The Black Keys (as far as vocal sounds and production goes) with a little Dr. Dog sprinkled in for good measure.  There aren’t any remnants of what I disliked about their debut.  It seems like they learned how to be in a band, how to own their sound, and how to write a cohesive album over the course of the past few years.  The vocals sound great, a little overdriven, and kinda dirty.  The guitars are fuzzy and still sound tight despite the noisy approach that their engineer took to recording them.  I enjoyed the way the songs flowed into one another as well, it seemed very honest and not contrived or forced.

                  In short, I would recommend Melophobia to any fans of the doom-wop-indie genre, even though it is slightly outside the realm, it has a lot of what is cool about that type of music.  Namely the production, playing style and subject matter.  It lacks the 50’s-ish Marty McFly at the “Enchantment Under the Sea Dance” chord progressions favored by bands in the genre, but I like the tonality of the record as a whole.  There is an overall similarity to bands like Alt J, but without the (excuse the judgement) cheezyness, and is textural without being too layered to the point of self indulgence.  Melophobia is a great example of learning from experience, which is exactly what Cage the Elephant has done. 

Listen to Spiderhead

Buy Melophobia NOW!!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - The Speed of Things

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            So first things first, lets talk about this bands name.  It’s awesome.  Somehow it also fits the band perfectly.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s blend of power pop and synth-y dance tracks seems perfectly appropriate under the namesake of an American sweetheart…Jr. 

             Supposedly, the band emailed Earnhardt Jr. to assure him they weren’t making fun of him, and sent him samples of their music before it released.  He approved.

            Their full length “The Speed of Things” does seem as though it came a little late to the indie-synth-pop party, but had it showed up on time it would’ve dominated amongst bands like Foster the People and Grouplove.  This doesn’t mean that this band can’t have some long-term success though.  D.E Jr. Jr. is a band that seems like it has grown quickly (having started in late 2009 as a recording project in singer Daniel Zott’s basement).  After releasing two EP’s prior to their first full length, and gaining national recognition on Conan and various other mainstream avenues, the band could go anywhere.  Hopefully they can keep up momentum and continue to be creative in a genre that is (arguably) waning. 

            As songwriters, DE Jr. Jr. excel at the tired and true verse-chorus-verse-bridge-big last chorus formula.  They do a nice job of peppering in ambient intro’s that reference whatever the main melody is going to be in the upcoming song, and the blend of real instruments and synthesizers is tasteful. 

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is the perfect holiday gift for fans of Phoenix, Passion Pit, M83, Grouplove or Empire of the Sun, and is a good companion to our long winter to come.   There is really nothing like a happy song in the wintertime.  

Listen to "If You Didn't See Me (You Weren't on the Dancefloor)"

Buy "The Speed of Things" By Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Iron Chic - The Constant One

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It is hard to believe, but sometimes I find myself hard pressed for something new to listen to.  Before anyone goes off the handle with things like “you work at a record store!” or, “you have the internet!!” or “you have a phone!” keep this in mind…We listen to music all day long, mostly music that we haven’t heard (‘cause we all like to stay informed), and its great.  It’s the bee’s knees.  It’s the dog’s tuxedo (that’s a thing right?).  But, when you have so many choices available to you, sometimes its difficult deciding on just one CD.  Long story short, this week I have been pretty musically indecisive.  So instead of trolling the internet for what is trending right this second, or what the current charts say, I took a chance and grabbed a CD at random out of our listening booth selection for the month.  The album was “The Constant One” by Iron Chic.

Iron Chic is a throwback pop punk/hardcore band in the vein of Polar Bear Club, with a little Dave-Grohl-yell-singing thrown in for good measure.  You (probably) don’t know this, but I love pop punk.  I grew up listening to bands like Operation Ivy, Rancid, Less Than Jake (yes, I know technically ska) and eventually moved on to the pop punk/emo wave that swept up every fourteen-year-old kid that wasn’t on a sports team like a tsunami of loud guitars and tight pants. 

Iron Chic brought me back to the summer of 2001, when walking through the halls with my headphones blasting was the highest form of rebellion I could achieve, without really knowing what I was rebelling against.  They are angst-y, loud, boisterous, and seem to like to swear.  It’s been a while since I heard a band that sounded genuine in this genre. 

During the whole 2007-2009 scenester-all-time-low-four-year-strong-a-day-to-remember-warped tour craze, none of the bands that played this type of music seemed to really mean it.  A lot of them would just play pop punk choruses with nu-metal guitar chugs and scream breakdowns.  The pieces that felt “pop punk” really just seemed like filler till they could do another breakdown to get their crab-core stances of and shake their straightened hair around.  This is not the case with Iron Chic.  Its like they somehow missed that whole fad (to which I say kudos) and just make strait up, feel good, Long Island pop punk. 

As far as songwriting goes, Iron Chic doesn’t break the mold, but damn they are good at what they do.  There is a naiveté to their lyrics that feels at home with the music surrounding them, but they don’t seem contrived.  I believe what they are saying.  That isn’t a phrase I feel like I get to say enough about lyrical content, especially in a genre that (for a while) was overwhelmed with songs about popping bottles, laying under the stars, and how awesome summer was.  Yes, summer was awesome, the stars look great, and sure, everyone loves champagne, but I don’t need to hear about any of those things from someone in painted on neon pants and a v-neck…I doubt their credibility.  I do not doubt Iron Chic’s.

            Sonically, you couldn’t ask for a better pop punk record.  The guitars are appropriately massive, the snare drum is punchy as hell, and the vocals aren’t tuned in post-production.  Sure “The Constant One” probably isn’t for your parents.  It probably isn’t for you little brother or sister either (again, lotta swears) but if you want a good pick me up from a band that really f***ing means it, get your frostbitten New York hands on Iron Chic’s “The Constant One”.  If you hate it, its okay, they don’t care anyway.

Buy your copy of Iron Chic's "The Constant One" TODAY 

The Bloody Beetroots - Hide

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I looked through some of the artists I have reviewed in the past 5 months, and realized I have yet to review any kind of EDM.  It is not a genre I am particularly knowledgeable about, so I have been hesitant to throw in my two cents when I am not as versed in the “rules” (for lack of a better word) of the songwriting or sonic structure associated with it.  But it was brought to my attention that it is such a new genre (in comparison to “guitar music”) that there are far more frontiers that can be explored and considered new or original.  That being said, since the genre is relatively new to me, I wasn’t looking for something that reinvented the wheel, just something different and interesting.  Enter the Bloody Beetroots.

            Before I get to any kind of review or nitpicking on my part, let me start by saying it is important to not judge an album by its cover art.  I hate everything about the Bloody Beetroot’s cover art on their new album Hide.  It looks like a roller derby poster with a middle aged (venom masked) Spider-Man with razor teeth holding what seems to be a reanimated dead woman with a bloody baseball bat.  Seriously, looks like it could be a grind-core cover.  There was one glimmer of hope on the album art, which was a little red circle in the upper left-hand corner that says “Collaborations with Paul McCartney, Peter Frampton, Theophilus London, Sam Sparro and Tommy Lee.” 

            So bypassing my reservations about the ridiculous cover art, and the potential of hearing Tommy Lee on something willingly, I listened to the album.  The Bloody Beetroots are laughing somewhere because I’m pretty sure they are making fun of my inability to take chances.  The album is super interesting.  I have a suspicion that I might not be the only one the Beetroots are making fun of.  I think higher on the list than me might be Skrillex and company.  Or American dub step in general.  Hopefully this is coming across as a good thing to anyone reading.  If it doesn’t seem like it yet, its totally getting there.

            I admit, at first listen I went right to the McCartney collaboration.  I really wanted to hear what he had contributed to the album.  Not in any way what I expected.  McCartney has been a busy man, with his own album NEW coming out last month (which sounded like a solid years worth of work in and of itself), and his track on this album, one of the two remaining Beatles has worked hard to stay current, and it shows.  To me (and I’m sure plenty of other skeptics) the inclusion of McCartney’s vocals (which were sang specifically for this album and not sampled) was a huge boost in credibility.  Not to mention a great song and selling point for the album.

            Sonically The Bloody Beetroots are a mixture of deep bass warble, arpegiated high end, and top tier production, specifically the mixture of real and sampled drums, which is really interesting.  Obviously there is more to their sound then those two sentences, but again, EDM is pretty new to me.  The songwriting is impressive when one looks at the breadth and scope of songs written for this album. It is as self indulgent and diverse as Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, but totally its own creation.  Where it seems like Daft Punk got in their Delorian and went back to the 70’s, it sounds like The Bloody Beetroots went to 2070 and came back with this CD full of crazy-twisted-Back-to-the-Future-tangent-universe songs.  I truly enjoyed the album as a whole, and I am curious how their next release will up the ante on this album.

            Listen to the McCartney collaboration “Out Of Sight”

Get your copy of The Bloody Beetroots - Hide