Tune-Yards: Nikki Nack ALBUM REVIEW

To tell you the truth, I never really liked Tune-Yards. I felt that the music that Merril Garbis and company created borrowed too heavily from the African music that inspired it, and the songs themselves were just to... weird. A complaint that I usually don't have, considering I enjoy acts like Death Grips. However, this year's biggest surprise for me thus far is easily the groups third album, Nikki Nack. 

Of course, all of the things that made me sort of loathe the group's past LPs is still here. African rhythms and weird song structures are this album's bread and butter. Fortunately, it seems that they have finally managed to craft a set of songs that are weird, but still remain composed from start to finish. Sure, there are plenty of odd and off-kilter moments on Nikki Nack, but Merril holds back from indulging in her need to over-saturate her songs with lots of sounds and ideas that don't really click together. 

The album starts off well enough with the track "Find A New Way" with its odd time signature and even odder vocal performance. The following track, and lead single "Water Fountain" is simply one of this years most exciting and colorful pop songs, and is the track that actually convinced me to give this LP a try. But, the true wonder of this album are its slower moments. The fantastic "Wait For A Minute" is a wonderful late album track that is so smooth and unlike anything Tune-Yards have done, it is sure convert a few naysayers out there.

That's not to say that the more upbeat moments aren't great as well. Aside from the aforementioned "Water Fountain", I found myself really enjoying tracks like "Sink-O" and "Stop That Man", also this LP closes with the utterly wonderful and slightly pointed track "Manchild" which I found thoroughly enjoyable.

Really, just about every track on this album had me either bobbing my head, or silently singing along. I am glad that Tune-Yards managed to put an album together that I enjoyed because I have always enjoyed the idea of a band like this. Luckily, the idea has been put into full effect on Nikki Nack, making for one of this years most fun and uplifting listens.

8.8/10

Lykke Li: I Never Learn ALBUM REVIEW

I've only ever been a casual listener of Lykke Li's music, but with a title like, I Never Learn and the concept of a devastating breakup behind it, I was thoroughly intrigued. In fact, upon doing some discography research in preparation for this review, I actually found that I do enjoy Li's style and personality as well. Her style has seemingly become darker and more serious with each album, with her last two LP's centering around themes of youth. 

However, I Never Learn is a pretty big departure from Li's last LP, and is entirely made up of ballads, or songs that go for heartbreaking and downtrodden moods. Take "No Rest For The Wicked" perhaps this LP's catchiest single and the only song on this album I could really see fitting in with material from her last album. This track is immediately enjoyable and has a killer melody, making it an easy highlight from this LP

Other moments like the gentle "Just Like A Dream" or the achingly sincere and desperate "Love Me Like I'm Not Made Of Stone" are noteworthy, and the latter is easily the best representation of the mood and sentiment of this album. However, there is a pretty big downside to this album, and that is that there are just as many great moments as there are passable ones. That's too bad because there are only nine tracks on INL, and that doesn't leave much room for error. 

My least favorite moments on this album aren't necessarily bad songs, but they lack any real "oompf" or drive that makes some of the best tracks so great. For instance, I really didn't find the melodies on "Gunshot" or "Silver Line" to be all that memorable and that lead me to not want to give them multiple listens when I returned to this LP. 

I wish that I liked more moments on this album because the moments I do enjoy are fantastic, and easily some of the best pop music I've heard all year. However, this LP falls short of being great do to some hazy production and lightweight melodies. 

7/10

Belle and Sebastian: The Boy With The Arab Strap CLASSIC REVIEW

Belle and Sebastian are a quaint little band from Glasgow, Scotland. They produced (and still do to some extent) some of the best pop songs in all of indie music. In recent years the band has expanded their sonic pallet, and have moved towards more grandiose portrayals of pop music that is less Nick Drake, and more Beach Boys in execution. However, I would like to point to the early goings of this band's music, as most critics often do. Though I'm not here to talk about the obvious choice, If You're Feeling Sinister; an album that has won accolades on darn near every major music site and magazine known to man. Of course, that LP deserves it, but as a newly initiated fan, I actually think that (at least in the eyes of certain critics) The Boy With The Arab Strap falls by the wayside when the discussion of the best B&S albums is brought up.

That's a shame really because I think that TBWTAS is not only as good as IYFS, but shows that the band was capable of doing something a bit different, yet still retain every ounce of charm that made them such a compelling band. TBWTAS is the same mixture of sweet and melancholy with just a touch of cheekiness. Tracks like "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career" and "Summer Wasting" see lead writer and singer Stuart Murdoch doing what he does best, writing songs about people and seasons, but making them feel like the most beautiful, yet tragic things you could imagine. Other songs, such as "Seymour Stein" or "Is It Wicked Not To Care?" show the other members of the band flaunting their vocals, and in the case of "Seymour Stein", they manage to be just as conceptual and romantic as Murdoch. 

Like its predecessor, TBWTAS flows elegantly from track to track, but this LP has a few more surprises than IYFS. For example, the track "A Space Boy Dream" is a surreal spoken-word piece that lands halfway through the album and essentially breaks up the A and B sides of the LP in a very interesting way. 

I find that I enjoy the sincerity and earnestness of IYFS, but I find TBWTAS to be the more confident of the two. They had nothing to prove at this point and were well on there way to becoming one of the most loved bands in the indie music scene. The band still holds that place to this day, though I think the music they produce now is a bit more straightforward. However, I still can't deny that their early output is some of the most delightful and beautifully breezy music I have ever heard. 

9.5/10

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: Pinata ALBUM REVIEW

This project came out of left field for me, which is mostly because I've never really been a follower of the MC, Freddie Gibbs. I am however, familiar with Madlib, the mastermind behind the production on this latest collaborative album, Pinata. And I have to say, both of these guys are putting forth some of their best work ever, especially Gibbs, who sounds hungry, and has plenty charisma, especially on the opener "Scarface". 

In fact, I almost get a 2-pac vibe whenever Gibbs starts rapping. This comes from the fact that he sounds relaxed and confident in his ability to deliver bar after bar of hard-nosed hood life raps. However, if you put these rhymes over your run of the mill production, they wouldn't be nearly as potent; enter Madlib. He is, as he always manages to be, the center of attention on Pinata, with his penchant for beautiful soul samples and funk based boom-bap drum beats, Madlib is concentrating his finest attributes on this LP, and it leads to some of the finest beats I've heard in hip hop in a good long while.

To start, I'll go back to the opener (aside from the intro skit), "Scarface" which sounds like a 70s exploitation film with Gibbs riding the beat like a champ. While the following track "Deeper" sees Gibbs rapping about a girl who he seems to have feelings for getting knocked up by another guy, while Madlib incorporates a wonderfully soulful vocal sample. "High" is a more up-beat track, and features a pretty lively verse from Danny Brown, who hasn't rapped over beats like this in what seems like forever, and that's a shame. 

What is truly amazing about Pinata is how it actually manages to be excellent from track one, to track seventeen. In fact, there isn't a single track on here that I don't enjoy listening to, even the interludes have great production and some funny moments to boot. The only slight complaint I have is that maybe Gibbs's rapping starts to wear thin towards the hour mark, but Madlib saves it with production that never ceases to be excellent through and through. 

This album is stellar, and it may just be the best Rap album that 2014 has to offer. If that is the case, it will be a fine year indeed.

9.5/10