Easy Star All-Stars - Radiodread (320) (2006)

As someone who doesn't really listen to reggae, let me just say that it's remarkable to me how easily this group was able to adapt Radiohead's seminal OK Computer into a dubfest. Featuring a variety of vocalists (some reggae, some not), some tracks seem to almost remain the same (No Surprises, Karma Police) while some are a completely new experience (Let Down, Subterranean Homesick Alien, Electioneering). This is sometimes good and sometimes bad, for instance the vocals provided by Toots & the Maytals on Let Down are so good. So good. It is able to bring out the bitter, misanthropic emotion from the original song while giving it a completely different atmosphere. Other songs can't quite do this as well, I personally thought the Subterranean Homesick Alien cover was completely disappointing and probably the worst song on the album. But they are all worth a listen, and as a whole, again, it's remarkable how seamlessly the transition seems.

An airbag saved my dub

SemaJ EkalB - S/T (320) (2011)

This is dubstep. It's soul. It's folk. It's electronic. It's candid. It's subtle. It's fucking amazing.

Wilhelms Scream

Scottish PostRockers - Hxc Will Never Perish, But You Shall (320) (2011)

Just cuz I'm paranoid over new albums. This one really reminds me of CODY, and yes, that is a compliment.

I'm Lionel Richie?

Pete Yorn - Musicforthemorningafter (320) (2001)

In a similar vein to the way The Strokes or The Gaslight Anthem (best two examples I can think of off the top of my head) took their genres and breathed new life into it without doing anything terribly tricky or special, Pete Yorn revitalizes the electro-acoustic singer/songwriter genre here. There is nothing Pete Yorn does here in regards to musical progress; all he was apparently interested in was packing an album full of incredible songs. Which he did. Very well.

I wrote a big-ass review for this but I only want to say this: the two key ingredients that make this album so good are 1) its subtlety and 2) its consistency. That's all you really need to know.

I'm walking around your closet

Mos Def - The Estatic (320) (2009)

This album is better than you. From the opening Malcom X soundbite to the closing piano of Casa Bey, there really isn't a track that isn't worth listening to. So listen to them. The samples, production, and lyrics are all great. Though obviously, his pseudo-singing and odd choices for delivery at some points will certainly be off-putting to some. But screw them.

I love this album more than I love my own wife. Or at least I would, if I was married.


What was I talking about again?





Oh, right!



I didn't know we were playing fight night!

65daysofstatic - Heavy Sky EP (320) (2010)

Unlike others, I did not write off 65dos's latest LP We Were Exploding Anyways as "stupid dance music;" nor did I think it was the point where the Sheffield natives who created such beautiful electronic post-rock gems as Aren't We All Running? and Radio Protector jumped the musical shark. However, I did understand where those critics were coming from, as it seemed 65dos had decided to, for the most part, leave behind the sound from their first two records that brought them so much acclaim. In a way, I applaud that they did what many bands are afraid or unwilling to do.

However--this EP shows that they haven't quite made as sharp a turn away from that sound as the LP released earlier this year may have indicated. And even though I didn't hate the LP, I can't pretend that I'm not completely stoked to finally hear this. This is the aural equivalent of seeing active brainwaves in a coma patient: you have no idea whether the patient will ever wake up, but it's nice to know that they're still in there. I have no idea where 65dos will go from here, but I know that I will be there sitting by their bedside just in case they decide to come out of their coma.

Guitar cascades

Siad & Yesha DapoED - The Visualz Anthology (V0) (2008)

For the record, I know that I am not usually the source of much underground hip-hop.

Now shut up and download this. It's good shit.

Just a day like any other

Nine Black Alps - Locked Out From the Inside (320) (2009)

I'm not too familiar with Nine Black Alps, but Everything Is enjoyable, no? This album was released on their own label "Lost House Records" which may account for the very small amount of attention it's received. After two listens, the album proves itself to be better than Everything Is, both lyrically and sonically. Nine Black Alps manages to do the whole "HEY! We got melody AND Heaviness!" thing without settling for mediocre elements of both like many modern groups.

Then again, this is all opinion and from an author that has terrible taste in music, so keep that in mind.

Seriously, I'm a Yeezy fan. I'm so mainstream.

The Local - Low Indigo (Bonus Disc Only) (2010) (FLAC)

Oh lawdy.

Takes an ocean not to break

Blue Sky Black Death - A Heap of Broken Images (320) (2006)

Hip-Hop. Two discs. Both instrumental and not. It's good. Trust me. Short phrases. Infrequent blog updates.

I guess I should put a link up, or something.

Eskmo - Eskmo (320) (2010)

Great beats, great melodies. Very unique sounding electronic album, kind of a glitchy trip-hop type of sound. Best song is the opener Cloudlight, possibly my favorite track of 2010 so far.

Floating in magically colorful pieces of sky

At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command (320) (2000)

Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez's band before they splintered off and formed The Mars Volta. Post-hardcore cornerstone. Masterpiece. Just listen to it.

Arcarsenal

TV On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (V0) (2006)

Per request. TVotR returns with some new faces, including David Bowie, who does guest-vocals on the track Province, and Jaleel Bunton, who provides the first actual drums on a TVotR album.

TvOTR don't really deviate from what made Desperate Youth such a great album. Instead, they treat their sophomore effort as an outline and use Cookie Mountain as a medium to flesh out the finer points. I Was A Lover is one of the better opening tracks I've heard, with Massive Attack's Teardrop used as a very basic sample before TV On the Radio layers it with horns, guitar, and Malone and Adebimpe's unique vocals. Wolf Like Me is probably the closest TVotR has ever come to actual in your face, driving rock-and-roll. For my money, the strongest track is the second-to-last one, Tonight, featuring what I firmly believe is the strongest vocal effort on any TVotR album.

Bottom line is that TV On the Radio isn't doing much of anything differently here, they're just doing everything better, which is pretty damn impressive and makes for a great listening experience...or ten.

Your rusty heart will be fine, in its telltale time

State of Mind - Faster Than Light (320) (2009)

Drum N' Bass.

Division Ten.

Boris At Last -Feedbacker- (320) (2003)

Jonathan Davis of Korn was once quoted as saying this on an advertisement of a video game called Haze: "Gaming for me is a religion. And Haze is the shit. I had to come up with a track that can hit up that kind of rush I get from the game and I think we really rocked it!!"

Now that quote by itself sounds both stupid and ridiculous. But if we change several words in that quote, it can sound like he is talking about Boris. "MUSIC for me is a religion. And BORIS is the shit. I tried to come up with a track that can hit up that kind of rush I get from FEEDBACKER and I think we really FUCKED it UP!!"

And there you have it. Jonathan Davis loves Boris. A random review of this album I remember reading described this album by saying it was as diverse as Akuma no Uta, and as cohesive as Flood. That sounds like a good way to describe it. Why the hell not, right?

It probably has more in common with Flood and Amplifier than it does with Heavy Rocks or Pink, if that helps as a point of reference. The album was written to be experienced as one long track, and it is about 43 minutes long. The first track is about ten minutes of building up for the second track, so keep that pacing in mind. Expect serene soundscapes being slowly overtaken by electric wail (provided by the Les Paul wielding guitar goddess Wata) before exploding into gorgeous amounts of feedback and percussive stomp. If that sounds like your thing, this album is for you. It's fair to say this may not be the perfect starting point for Boris, as that role might be filled better by Akuma No Uta or Pink, but it's definitely worth a listen.

Cover kinda creeps me out, though.