Young Fathers, "White Men Are Black Men Too"

"White Men Are Black Men Too" is an urgent album title that is sure to grab your attention, and the music on Young Fathers' second LP absolutely matches the urgency portrayed by the title. Sonically, I would describe this album as noisey, lo-fi,  experimental pop music. Those who have been following the Mercury-prize winning Scottish trio will know that those adjectives show that Young Fathers are not exactly treading any new ground on this album, but that's alright. It still sounds different from their debut full-length record, "Dead". While "Dead" was critically acclaimed and contained a few great tracks, it was more polished than "White Men", and Young Fathers is a band whose music truly benefits from lower-quality recordings, and suffers from studio gloss in my opinion. Their often sarcastic personalities biting lyrics complement the fuzzy, obscure beats. Another major difference between "Dead" and this new record is that it is more melodic. While some songs, such as "Old Rock n Roll", contain rap verses, the focus is mostly on the trio's soulful singing and excellent harmonies. And while "Dead" dealt primarily with depression and loneliness from a lyrical standpoint, this album tackles social issues, including, but not limited to, race. One track that discusses race is "Sirens", which is a comment on police brutality. While this is one of the most catchy songs that Young Fathers has written to date, it also is very serious, literal, and moving. There are also a few upbeat songs on the album as well. This includes the single "Shame", as well as "Nest". The latter was allegedly written when the candy company Nestle asked Young Fathers to write them a jingle. According to an interview with NME, Young Fathers instead wrote a satirical song that draws attention to the link between Nestle's baby milk  powder and the spread of disease among its consumers in the developing world. Both lyrically and musically, "White Men Are Black Men Too" is a very interesting and unique music. Like most great music, it might not make sense at first listen. But once you give it some time, the odd beats, experimental structures, and creative lyrics all compliment each other. These qualities, together with the memorable melodies, all work together to create yet another album-of-they-year contender for 2015.

 

Click here to listen to "Shame"

Click here to read Young Fathers' interview with NME

A couple of my own tunes, "Jigsaw" and "Missed the Mark"

When I started this blog, I mentioned that I would periodically share my own music for anyone who is interested. Here are a couple songs that I have recorded recently,called "Jigsaw" and "Missed the Mark". Both will hopefully be part of an upcoming album or EP. I performed all vocals and instruments EXCEPT drums. Evan Kelley performed drums on "Jigsaw", and Dan Brogan performed drums on "Missed the Mark". These songs were recorded with a portable Tascam 8-track and a condenser microphone. Any feedback is always appreciated, so let me know what you think of these songs!

Click here to listen to "Jigsaw"
Click here to listen to "Missed the Mark"

Sufjan Stevens, "The Age of Adz"

In 2010, beloved indie-folk artist Sufjan Stevens shocked the music world by abandoning his winning combination of gentle acoustic rock and grandiose baroque-pop in favor for glitchy, experimental, and manic electronic noises. Instead of relying on the guitar and piano as songwriting tools, Sufjan used samplers, sequencers, and pedals to find new inspiration. The result was an extremely complex, ambitious, and very interesting record called The Age of Adz. Whether or not you are a fan of Sufjan's risks, one thing is for certain: This album truly doesn't sound like anything else out there. When this record was first released back in 2010, I gave it a listen. As a fan of Illinois, Sufjan's 2005 baroque/folk masterpiece that led him to indie stardom, I was very confused, overwhelmed, and ultimately disappointed when I first heard the Age of Adz. The odd song structures, the noisey instrumentals, the frequent use of harsh dissonance, and most importantly, the absence of folk influences, did absolutely nothing for me. But with the release of his brilliant and simple return to folk, Carrie & Lowell (which I blogged about here), I decided to revisit some of  Sufjan's previous work, including The Age of Adz. After really digesting a few of the album's key tracks, my view on this record changed completely. When I listened to The Age of Adz five years ago, I wrote it off simply because it was not what I had expected, and was so different from anything else I had heard before. Now, I regard this creative body-of-work as a masterpiece. While the aformationed glitchy, electronic soundscapes are prevalent throughout the whole album, Stevens's songwriting is stronger than ever. The album's second track, "Too Much", is as catchy as a straightforward pop song, but the scattering electric drums and seemingly random blips, along with an unusual time signature, make it much more compelling and unusual than the average indie pop song. But my personal favorite song on the record is the second-to-last track, "I Want to Be Well". The musical complexity and absurdly exaggerated frenzy of computer-generated noise, complete with periodic splashes of dissonant horns and female background vocals, is impossible to comprehend upon first listen. But once the song builds-up and the hook reveals itself three minutes into the song, you eventually realize that you are simply listening to an emotionally compelling, futuristic pop song. Although it was only released five years ago, I strongly believe that The Age of Adz is ahead of its time. I can already hear the glitch-y elements of these songs making their way into today's mainstream alternative music scene, as well as in house and trap music. In many ways, I would liken this album to the Beach Boys 1966 classic album, Pet Sounds. Both are pop albums at their core, but bring in many new and creative compositional elements to the table. They both experiment with instruments in new ways, tinker with song structure, divulge into very personal and introspective lyrical territory (something both Sufjan and Brian Wilson tended to avoid before these respective albums), and overall sound much more similar to music that came out in the years following their releases, and not like anything else from the time they were released. Revisiting The Age of Adz was an extremely rewarding experience for me. I hope that as time passes, this album will gain the critical acclaim that it deserves, much like Pet Sounds did. The Age of Adz is a truly creative album that is hard to digest after one listen, but is very satisfying after many.



          

Stream the entire album for free here!
Click here to watch Sufjan's 2010 performance of "Too Much" on Jimmy Fallon

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell"

March 2015 has got to be one of the most exciting months for new music in a long time. The first new Modest Mouse record in eight years, Kendrick Lamar's follow-up to his instant classic breakthrough, Earl Sweatshirt's darkly mysterious sophomore record, and then there's Sufjan Steven's first new album in five years, Carrie & Lowell , which has been described as a "back-to-roots folk" album by Sufjan himself. Indie-folk fans, rejoice. For those who hated the electronic experimentation and overwhelming musical complexity of Sufjan's last record, The Age of Adz, Carrie & Lowell is sonically the opposite of that record. Sufjan has abandoned the abrasive and challenging loudness in favor of extremely simple, sparse, percussion-less, acoustic sounds that many fans will compare to his debut record Seven Swans. But just like every other Sufjan record, Carrie & Lowell has its own unique identity. Never has a Sufjan Stevens record been so consistently depressing, and the album's backstory may help you understand why. The album is named after his mother, who died of cancer in 2012, and his stepfather. Stevens revealed in a recent interview with Pitchfork that he did not have a close relationship with his mother, who suffered from alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness. This lack of a real relationship weighed heavy on Sufjan's conscience after his mother's death, and he began engaging in the same reckless behavior that his mother succumbed to (most likely drugs and alcohol). This admission is particularly surprising, since it is well-documented that Stevens is a Christian, and he has always kept a more-or-less "clean" image. But I applaud Sufjan for not hiding his pain, and instead embracing it despite what others may think. Some fans will be surprised to hear Sufjan mournfully croon about "getting drunk to get laid" on standout track "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross", but these are the words of an artist reflecting on his own personal experiences. But Sufjan does cry out to Jesus in the keyboard ballad "John, My Beloved", which is perhaps the one moment of hope on the album. The "black shroud" he repeatedly references in the single "Should've Known Better" seems to cover the entire album, especially in the ambient outros that connect many of the tracks together. If you do not enjoy sad music, then steer clear of this album. There is no trace of the grandiose, brass-infused tracks found on his magnum-opus Illinois which gained Stevens his cult-like following, nor is there anything remotely similar to the upbeat energy or progressive exploration from The Age of Adz, as previously stated. But if you enjoy simple, heartfelt, and emotionally intense music that urges you to sympathize with the narrator while also critically reflecting on your own life, then this is the Sufjan Stevens record you have been waiting for.







Click here to read Sufjan's emotional interview with Pitchfork
Click here to listen to "Should Have Known Better"
Click here to listen to "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross"

Modest Mouse, "Strangers to Ourselves"

It's finally here. After eight long years, Modest Mouse have finally returned with their sixth album, titled Strangers to Ourselves. I previously shared about my love for this band and my excitement for their long-awaited new record in my post about the single "Coyotes". This single gave me hope that Modest Mouse would reutilize some of the elements of their earlier music that I emotionally connect to most (introspective lyrics, songs that build-up, bending guitars, etc.) that they had strayed away from on their last couple records. And I am pleased to say that there are a handful of tracks on Strangers to Ourselves that are reminiscent of their earlier material and contain these elements that originally made me fall in love with Modest Mouse. From beginning to end, this is an emotionally gripping record in true Modest Mouse fashion. Besides "Coyotes", the opening and closing tracks titled "Strangers to Ourselves" and "Of Course We Know", are two of the most moving and profound 'ballads' that the band has ever produced. "Strangers" is musically subdued and lyrically poetic, while "Of Course We Know" is reminiscent of a Grizzly Bear song musically with it's reverb-heavy guitars and piano, but the lyrics are an unmistakable Isaac Brock rant. The rest of the songs in between these two beautifully simple bookends cover many different soundscapes, but stick to the lyrical theme of the album's title. For me, the highlights of the album are the tracks that showcase reverb-heavy production and Isaac's distinct guitar playing. Aside from the three tracks already mentioned, this includes "Pups to Dust" and "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box". The first 30 seconds of "Pups" are incredibly reminiscent of the band's early work, and perhaps is my favorite moment on the record if only for the sheer nostalgia it generates. The entire song is fascinating, with signature Brock lyrics that question existence (my favorites being "the way we feel about what we do is by who has watched", and "we don't belong here, we were just born here"). Complete with a "trippy" outro that sounds similar to my personal favorite Mouse record, The Moon and Antarctica, this song personally blew me away. "The Ground Walks" also excited me upon first listen. It's very dancey, which is a characteristic of their more recent material, but also contains some awesome guitar leads by Brock that sound like they could be from their first record. The combination of old and new sounds on this track creates a perfect balance that they had not quite achieved until now. There are a couple songs on this record, however, that prevent this album from being as cohesive as their previous efforts in sound and quality. One of these tracks, "Pistol", is an experimental electronic number that features primarily drum machines and synths, and Brock shouting absurd innuendos from the perspective of a serial killer complete with creepy vocal distortion. While I applaud the band for creating a song that sounds absolutely nothing like any of their previous material, this song sticks out like a sore thumb, and in my opinion, is horrifying (and certainly not pleasant) to listen to. "Sugar Boats", while not a terrible song, sounds like a retread compared to the rest of the record. The tacky piano and the Tom Waits-esque chord progression also makes this track sound entirely different from the rest of the record (and extremely similar to their last two records). By simply removing this track from the album, the overall cohesion of the record would improve immensely. However, this record is a huge improvement over their last record. Strangers to Ourselves, for the most part, marks a return to introspective lyrics and emotional music for Modest Mouse. Fans of their earlier work may be disappointed to hear that this is their most heavily produced record to date. There is much more layering and sound effects than even their previous major label albums had. But the songwriting and music more than makes up for the lack of raw production in my opinion. In the end, I am very satisfied that my favorite band is finally back with a record full of great songs with an outpouring of emotion, because only Modest Mouse can make me feel so strongly through music.





Click here to listen to "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box"
Click here to listen to "Of Course We Know"

MeWithoutYou, "Ten Stories"

Wow, am I late to the party. MeWithoutYou's debut record was released 13 years ago, but I have only become engrossed in their catalog over the past week. But, as the saying goes, it's better late than never. These guys are immensley talented. MeWithoutYou first emerged in the Christian hardcore scene, and become known for their dark, heavy instrumentals that backed lead vocalist Aaron Weiss's distinctive, frantic shout/screaming vocal delivery matched with lyrics that were very introspective and 'wordy'. But over the years, MeWithoutYou's sound evolved into something more reminiscent of indie folk (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats), with hardly a trace of the hardcore and emo that helped them amass their devoted fan-base. Perhaps the alienating of their original fans made MeWithoutYou feel guilty, because the band decided to incorporate their hardcore roots into their music again on their latest album, 2012's Ten Stories. This is a truly compelling album that mixes loud, distorted guitars and traditional folk music that could almost pass for a children's album if not for the occasional screaming and dark lyrics of Aaron Weiss. Lyrically, Ten Stories is a concept record about a circus train crash in 1878. Each song tells a story about a circus animal's experience in the circus and in the aftermath of the disaster. Mostly told in first person, the songs are extremely detailed and authentic. Even though Weiss is talking through characters, his words somehow don't sound any less personal than they did in the band's early days when he wrote songs about battling his own personal demons. The chorus of the indie-pop influenced track "Cardiff Giant" may be a conversation between a peacock and a tiger, but when Weiss belts out "I often wonder if I've already died", the intensity of his delivery along with the powerful words makes you contemplate if perhaps this is a personal record doubling as a story about talking animals. Another highlight on the album is "Nine Stories", which starts out as a dark, subdued folk song, but suddenly transitions completely into a stomping rocker. This experimentation with song structure is also a welcome addition to MeWithoutYou's sound. This is a band that is always looking for ways to do things differently, and it shows on this record more than ever. MeWithoutYou have recently announced that they will be releasing a new LP this year, and after hearing the blending of different genres and compelling storytelling on Ten Stories, I can't wait for it.



Click here to listen to "Cardiff Giant"

Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"

It's a popular belief amongst hip-hop fans that after the 90's, the quality of hip-hop music has gone downhill. Within the past ten years or so, glorification of gang culture, misogyny, drugs and alcohol has been extremely present in mainstream hip-hop music. Artists such as Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, and Nas were among heavyweights from the late 80's to the mid 90's. These rappers focused on positive messages of empowerment (especially for the black community) as well as sharp critiques of American ideology. Of course, this music still existed after the mid 90's, despite not being part of the mainstream rap scene. But in 2012, Kendrick Lamar's major label debut good kid m.A.A.d. city took the music world by storm. The album is a concept record that takes place over the period of one day in the life of a 16-year old Kendrick Lamar. It vividly describes the peer pressure that many inner-city kids feel growing up around gang culture. The descriptive, emotional lyrics combined with the soulful beats and irresistible hooks have propelled "intelligent" hip-hop to be "cool" again to a certain extent. Anyone who follows hip-hop music has certainly heard of Kendrick Lamar and his impressive breakthrough album. Now, in 2015, the pressure is on Kendrick to deliver a new album as great as good kid m.A.A.d. city. Kendrick could choose to rely heavily on his catchy hooks and become a bona fide pop-star, or he could focus on his ability to skillfully rap about social issues and become something greater. On his newly released single "The Blacker the Berry", Kendrick makes as blatant social statement that proves that he is much more than a pop-star. He is a very intelligent rapper who truly cares about the message of his music. On this song, Kendrick raps aggressively over an urgent guitar-sampling beat courtesy of Boi-1da. He begins each verse by saying "I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015", but goes onto rap about how proud he is to be part of black culture. He takes many racial stereotypes but showcases them in a positive way. One subtle hypocrisy that he may be alluding to is the dissonance between his celebratory lyrics and angry vocal delivery. It is confusing at first, but in the second verse, he goes on to eloquently attack racists who look down upon his culture. His observations show that many times, it is the white-dominated American society whose judgments may keep the perpetuation of gang violence alive ("I'm irrelevant to society / at least that's what you're telling me / penitentiary would only hire me", "church me with your fake prophosizing / that I'mma be just another slave in my head.")  And on the third verse, Kendrick initially switches back to celebrating his black heritage. But at the song's end, he finally reveals why he considers himself to be a hypocrite. He violently spits "Why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street / When gang-bangin' made me kill a n---- blacker than me? Hypocrite!" Naturally, some people have been offended by these lines. Many people have misconstrued these shocking lyrics as Lamar taking the side of the predominantly white groups of Americans who have denied police brutality against minorities. But Lamar has actually been strongly advocating against brutality, and has been vocal about his support for Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and all other victims of police brutality. The overall message is that all forms of violence should not be tolerated. He makes it very clear in the second verse that the way many whites judge and treat black Americans is NOT morally correct in any circumstance. That being said, he feels that if predominantly black inner-city gangs did not kill each other, then certain white officers might not judge every other black American in such a way. Despite it's aggressive nature, I believe this song is essentially a call for peace on all parts of the spectrum. And whether or not you agree with the song's message, it's undeniable that this is the most blatantly political and thought-provoking song that mainstream hip-hop has seen in quite some time. It is also worth noting that the song does not feature a traditional, sing-along chorus like many of Kendrick's previous hits. Instead, the chorus features reggae singer Assassin rapidly firing lyrics such as "they treat me as a slave, 'cause me black / we feel a whole heap of pain 'cause we black". Both sonically and lyrically, this chorus does not sound remotely like a song you would hear on the radio on your way to work. While his previous hits were socially conscious to a degree, this song makes much more of a poignant statement, and sounds much less like a typical pop song. I truly hope that Kendrick's newfound superstar status will cause the mainstream audience to embrace music with a message. I desperately do not want his lyrical boldness and sonic experimentation to cause the mainstream hip-hop audience to turn a blind eye to his new music, because this is the type of hip-hop the world needs to hear again.





Click here to listen to "The Blacker the Berry"