Thursday, April 30, 2015

Rae Sremmurd: SremmLife ALBUM REVIEW


Rae Sremmurd are a duo from Mississippi, composed of brothers Swae and Slim Jimmy. These two aren't really doing anything new on this album and actually, I kind of hated this album initially. But, like most things in the world of trap music, it grew on me. This is mostly due to the production and hooks on this album because for the most part, while I find these guys to be pretty energetic on record and pretty cool in their interviews; they just aren't great MC's, at least not yet.



Most of their lines function on rap cliches, lots of women, drugs, and money. Plus their punchlines are pretty middle of the road too, but for some reason, I just find Swae's autotuned singing and Jimmy's raspy flows to be incredibly entertaining, even though this album almost hits the fifty minute mark. But, back to the reason I gave this album another shot; the beats. If you've been following my reviews, you'll know that I'm a sucker for trap beats, or just beats that have good kicks and bass with a decent melody laced in it. That is exactly what SremmLife functions on. For example, while the concept and lyrics on a song like "Come Get Her" are beyond dumb, the hook comes through and I find myself bobbing my head. Another good example of this is what is probably my favorite track off the entire album, "Throw Sum Mo" which has such a hypnotic synth line that rests on top of a bed of sub bass and high hats... pure trap ear candy.

There are also a couple good singles, "No Flex Zone" being there biggest and most well known, though I'd make the argument that "No Type" is the better of the two, though I guess it's not as banger worthy, which might be a deal breaker for some.


Now that I've made my peace with why I like this album I have to set things straight; this album is really dumb and has no redeeming value if you're looking for music that will challenge you in any way. But, this music is exactly the kind of stuff that I can unwind to after a long day at work, and that is simply priceless in my eyes. It isn't great, but I think it's worth at least checking out for the energy and beats.

6.0/10

Friday, April 24, 2015

Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color ALBUM REVIEW


Alabama Shakes are a rock band from Athens, Alabama and are fronted by enigmatic frontwoman, Brittany Howard. This is the band's sophomore release, and while their debut Boys & Girls was likable, I wasn't blown away by it and expected more of the same on Sound & Color. Luckily, this album turned out to be this year's most pleasant surprise yet, with its focus on Southern Rock mixed with old Soul and the exuberant vocal performances from Miss Howard, it is hard not to love everything the band is doing on this LP.

The album kicks off with the mellow title track, but is followed up by what is sure to be every one's favorite rock single of the year, "Don't Wanna Fight" with its infectious groove and lyrics about the draining effects of a relationship gone sour, it hits all the right spots for a catchy rock tune that is worth remembering at the end of the year and beyond.



From this point on, the album hits an incredibly consistent stride; the track "Dunes" is a bit of a grower that has a great little guitar line that was an incredible ear worm for me, we then get another great single in the form of "Future People" which again, sees the band bending Rock and Soul together in a way that hasn't been this captivating in a long, long time. Plus, the blasts of distorted bass on this track are simply wonderful. However, the crowing jewel of Sound & Color comes in the form of "Gimme All Your Love", a fiery, smooth, and all together captivating Soul song that breaks into a loose, freewheeling jam by the end. Also, this track is easily the best vocal performance that Brittany Howard has ever committed to record; her voice goes from buttery smooth to raucous and wild with no effort at all.



I also loved the track "The Greatest" for its punk energy, and the fact that this song showcases just how much fun the band seemed to have recording this album. This infectious energy is all over Sound & Color and is truly refreshing to hear in Rock music. The only minor slip up this album encounters is the track "Gemini" which maybe could have been paired down a little, or made more eventful to justify its length? Aside from that though, I absolutely loved this album from top to bottom and urge you to give it a listen.

8.8/10

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Tyler, The Creator: Cherry Bomb ALBUM REVIEW


So, if you haven't already noticed, there is a trend in hip hop right now where pretty much everyone has decided to forgo the usual hype cycle that is usually associated with big name artists dropping their new album by releasing the album out of the blue, or earlier than what the release date stated. Drake, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, and Young Thug have all done this recently (with varying levels of success) and now Tyler has decided to join in by releasing his third full length album, Cherry Bomb without much warning at all aside from a single that was dropped a few days before the release.

However, this isn't the first time this has happened with an Odd Future affiliate, in fact, it was only a few weeks ago when Earl's album was released, supposedly far before its release date. So, Tyler could either be trying to join in with this growing trend of surprise releases, or simply trying to keep up with his buddies in OF. Whatever the case is... I don't like the majority of what I'm hearing on Cherry Bomb.



This has a lot to do with what came before it, since I thought Wolf was pretty solid; it showcased the better parts of Tyler's production and even had him spitting some very personal lines that I thought were very heartfelt and rewarding for the listener. Unfortunately on Cherry Bomb, Tyler's idea of being personal is him complaining about how he can't wear his hat in certain places.

Also, aside from a few lines on tracks like "THE BROWNSTAINS" or "SMUCKERS", Tyler isn't a very entertaining MC on this album, instead opting for these lowest common denominator bars that do absolutely nothing for me. Truthfully, this album reminds me a lot of Goblin, and album that seemed like Tyler's excuse to mess with mainstream expectations of what rap music is and how young people should behave. While these were and still are perceptions that should be broken, Cherry Bomb, like Goblin, doesn't back up this rebellion with any kind of potency, leading to a very flat listening experience.



The only part of this album that I can truly commend is the production, but even that suffers from Tyler's need to act as irreverent as possible. For example, the production on tracks like "KEEP DA O's" and "F***KIN YOUNG" is really lush and layered. But as soon as the title track starts, he just throws all of that out the window in exchange for production that is sloppily mixed to seem "noisy" when all it really does is bury Tyler in the mix and muddy up everything else. There is a way to do aggressive rap tracks, Death Grips does it all the time with 10 times the aggression and purpose than anything on Cherry Bomb.

To keep things concise, I just can't get down with Cherry Bomb. Really the only track I'll come back to is "PILOT" and maybe "SMUCKERS", but darn near every other track on here reminds me of why I hated Goblin so much and why Wolf was such a pleasant surprise. Maybe his next album will be better?

4.3/10

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Red Death: Permanent Exile ALBUM REVIEW


Red Death are a crossover Thrash metal group, hailing from Washington D.C. They follow in the tradition of hardcore bands from the 80's, playing music that is fast, to the point, and loaded with politically charged lyrics. If you couldn't tell from the album cover, this album is pretty brutal, though I'd say it's actually a lot more listenable and listener- friendly than the majority of upstart Thrash crossovers you're bound to come across on bandcamp.

In fact, this album is pretty great, and I say that as someone who is a  huge fan of Thrash, but has never really been into a lot of Hardcore Punk; luckily, Red Death take the killer riffs and guitar tone from Thrash, and take the vocal ferocity and song lengths from Hardcore Punk, making this album's 16 minutes something truly mosh-worthy. And if that last sentence threw you off, yes, this album is only 16 minutes long. However, the band does a great job of seamlessly gliding from one track to the next, which makes Permanent Exile feel more like one continuous song than 9 separate tracks.

My only real complaint with this album is the fact that there isn't more to it; Red Death are content with punching you in the face and leaving, without a moment to catch your breath. This has a lot to do with the Hardcore Punk influence, but I'd love to see these guys lay down longer tracks and really dig into the riffs that they show they know how to write. But, I'm not going to complain about that too much because I had a whole lot of fun with this LP, and will be looking out for more stuff from this band in the future.

8.0/10