Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of the City ALBUM REVIEW

It wasn't until 2010's "Contra", that I really started to enjoy Vampire Weekend. Their Debut had a couple of decent singles, but I found the overall album to be kind of underwhelming. "Contra" however, changed my entire perception of the band, and actually ended up being one of my favorite albums from that year. 

And now we have "Modern Vampires of the City"; an album that is, in my opinion, the culmination of all of the bands best attributes, focused into one, undeniably great package.

The album kicks things off with the track "Obvious Bicycle", with it's gospel melody and beautiful arrangements, this track shows a huge Paul Simon influence; an influence that the band has shown ever since "Contra", and one they embrace even more on this new LP. Take the track "Unbelievers", another track with a gospel-tinged melody, not to mention the obvious references to religion; a theme that seems to be the focal point of "Modern Vampires of the City". 

But even if you don't care about what the lyrics are actually saying, you can still enjoy these songs and even the lyrics, for just how wonderfully arranged and written they are. The song "Step", though eerily similar to Bread's "Aubrey", is still a hauntingly beautiful track. Following it is the energetic "Diane Young", with one of the most infectious chorus's on the entire album, and for that matter, the summer. 

Things do slow down a bit after the track "Hannah Hunt", but even in the albums least impressive moments, ("Finger Back" and "Worship You" come to mind) the music is still very good. So yes, they haven't crafted a perfect album; but with each release being better than the last, it's hard to think that in another three years or so, they might actually do just that.

9.0/10

Daft Punk: Random Access Memories ALBUM REVIEW

It's been eight long years since the release of Daft Punk's last official studio release, "Human After All"; an album considered by pretty much everyone, to be the duo's worst album. I won't go into too much detail on the group's history or my exact feelings on every one of their albums; but I will say that while "Human After All" may not have been as great as "Homework", or as downright amazing as "Discovery"; it had it's positive moments, and it only makes their latest album, "RAM" seem all that more impressive.

"RAM" starts of with the anthemic "Give Life Back to Music", and with the help of the legendary Nile Rogers, Daft Punk pen a tune that is not only a good start to the album, but it also states what they want to accomplish with "RAM"; give life back to music by combining the past a future together, seamlessly.

The track "Giorgio by Morodor" cements the concept with a fantastic monologue from another music legend, Giovani Giorgio. But none of this would matter if the music itself wasn't great, and "RAM" has some of the most intricate and well produced dance music I've heard since "Discovery". "RAM" also sees Daft Punk moving away from their house and techno roots and moving in a more disco and slightly prog direction. 

The single "Get Lucky" is a perfect example of their disco leanings, with another contribution from Rogers. While "Touch" shows the duo's ability to make an 8 minute track interesting throughout, with a choir and a fantastic vocal contribution from Paul Williams; this is really my favorite moment on "RAM".

Truth be told, there's not a single bad song on "RAM", and while a lot of people consider the track "Lose Yourself To Dance" to be the weakest track, I'd say the track "Motherboard" is more deserving of that title. It's a good track, don't get me wrong; but It's no "Short Circuit". 

"RAM" closes with three stellar tracks; some of the best the album has to offer. Starting with "Fragments of Time", which features Todd Edwards, who was also featured on my favorite track from "Discovery", "Face to Face". The song is a nice piece of soft-rock, and is the least electronic song I've ever heard from Daft Punk. The track "Doin' it Right" is more akin to what Daft Punk usually do; vocoder vocals with a great beat; Panda Bear is also featured on the track, bringing a nice human element to the proceedings. And then there's "Contact", which is an amazingly tense track, that escalates beautifully, and finishes the album on  a high note.

"RAM" is another immensely enjoyable album from Daft Punk, who prove that they can still make some of the best dance music around; and "RAM" is a darn near perfect dance album.

9.8/10

Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap ALBUM REVIEW

Chicago's very own Chance The Rapper has gone from a relatively overlooked MC, to being featured on Pitchfork and many music blogs around the net for his latest mixtape; Acid Rap. 

And the hype is justified, mostly; Acid Rap is a pretty stand-out mixtape. Songs like the opener and "Cocoa Butter Kisses", are extremely well produced and have killer hooks, and Chance has some clever wordplay to boot; with the hook on "Cocoa Butter Kisses" musing about how his addiction to cigarettes causes strain in his every day relationships ( "cigarettes on cigarettes, my momma think I stink/ I got burn holes in my hoodies/ my homeboys think it's dank").

Other standouts include the fun "Nana" and "Juice". However, the highlight of this LP is "Everybody's Something", it combines the best of Chance's talents into a singularly amazing song about how "everybody's somebody's everything", with a great chorus featuring singing by Chance himself; a skill he flaunts all over "Acid Rap". 

After that track, the album finds Chance falling into some unfortunate rap cliches and poor hooks. While the production on a track like "My Favorite Song" is bright and fun, the vapid chorus is enough to make the prospect of repeat listens a little foreboding. The worst offender though, is the track "Smoke Again ft. Ab-Soul", and that's a little sad, because while he's not my favorite rapper from the TDE collective; Ab is usually a much more profound lyricist; I mean, the line "let me put my mouth where you potty, boo" is downright 

amateur. 

It happens every three months or so; a young MC comes out with a killer single and thus the entire mixtape receives a lot of attention, only to have that project be mediocre at best. Luckily, like Big K.R.I.T or Kendrick Lamar, Chance The Rapper has managed to put together a fun, sometimes fantastic mixtape that shows a lot of promise for an upstart MC.

8.0/10