Tag: album review

Goes West – An Instrumental Odyssey from William Tyler

The worlds of folk and Americana music are, at best, in constant struggle between the future and the past.  While some folk bands cling to what is familiar, the finest artists see the past as a springboard into fresh new sounds.  This was the case with Bob Dylan’s iconic Newport Folk Festival controversy, as it was the case with Fleet Foxes’s breathtaking 2017 album, Crack-UpGoes West by William Tyler joins this pantheon by continuing not only to push the envelope, but also to open it and slide a letter of his own inside.

Ghost: Growing Beyond Novelty

Prequelle by Ghost

Earlier this year, Ghost released Prequelle, a near-perfect arena rock record dripping with the band’s classic satanic doom-metal aesthetic and dashes of really fun pop glimmer.  Every song on the album fits ingeniously and further establishes the band’s repertoire of new rock classics.  Even the two instrumental pieces continue the energy of the other songs seamlessly, creating a beautifully cohesive album.  Some tracks have lush orchestral intros and outros which act as gorgeous reprises or previews of other melodies on the album and enhance the overall flow.  Somehow, amidst our current music climate of the widespread reappropriation of the sounds and textures of the 1980s, the clear 80s influence on Prequelle still feels fresh and exciting, balanced perfectly against 70s hard rock and 21st century dance sensibilities.  Thematically, the album perfectly intertwines deliciously cheesy imagery of the Black Death with entertaining and incisive disses on some of the former members of the band who levied a lawsuit against the frontman.  At a fairly concise 41 minutes long, Prequelle doesn’t squander a second; every moment on the album feels important.  It’s a strong top 5 contender for my AOTY, and so I had very high hopes for the tour.

What You Need to Know About Kamikaze

I thought Eminem was done. We all did. I can remember listening to “Arose,” the last track off of Eminem’s Revival, released this past December. In this song, Em takes us back to 2007, where he recounts a play-by-play near death experience in the hospital after an overdose. This is truly an emotional track, with Bette Midler’s “The Rose,” sampled under Eminem giving goodbyes to his family and apologizing for not being there for Hailie and the other kids.

Ravyn Lenae’s New Empowering Sound on Crush EP

Ravyn Lenae’s Crush EP Cover. Photo by Jingyu Lin. Source: Atlantic Records.

Chicago songstress Ravyn Lenae collaborates with The Internet’s Steve Lacy to deliver an EP brimming with intoxicatingly confident vocals over futuristic funk beats – a combination well-suited for arriving the week before Valentine’s Day.

BROCKHAMPTON Soars with SATURATION II

Members of Brockhampton (Photo by Ashlan Grey)

BROCKHAMPTON returned with a bang on their third release, Saturation II, off their own label Question Everything, Inc this past August 25th . The group has a sound as unorthodox as their origin story, the majority of the members having met on a popular Kanye West forum before ever meeting in real life. Coalescing under leader Kevin Abstract and taking up the all-caps moniker BROCKHAMPTON, the group of 15 moved to South Central Los Angeles in 2015 to be the next great American boyband. Following their two previous releases, Saturation II creeps, crawls, and roars its way into your sonic sphere with the youthful energy of a group of 19-23 year old men that have something(s) to say.