Mick Jenkins: Wave[s] ALBUM REVIEW

Last year was a pretty great year for Chicago rapper, Mick Jenkins. His tape The Water[s] got a lot of positive feedback, and he was quickly placed alongside contemporaries such as Chance the Rapper when it came to promising new talent in the rap game. As you may know, I was also a pretty big fan of that tape. In short, Mick really brought himself to the front, displaying a knack for great flows, beat choices, and messages.

Going into this new EP, I had heard that he changed his style up, which can either mean that a rapper has decided to try on some more mainstream clothes, or that they are going even farther into the left-field. However, it isn't that simple for Mick on Wave[s]. While there are certainly moments here that lean a bit more to the mainstream, "Piano", "Your Love", "Alchemy"; there are also plenty of moments that could only be identified as a Mick Jenkins track, such as the closer and the track "Get Up Get Down" which has such a great banger beat and some immaculate flows to boot.

Mick also tries his hand at singing on this album, though it's more like recent Drake in the way he presents it; just a way to spice up an otherwise flow heavy rap song. To me, Mick is sounding better than ever rap wise on this EP, but some of the choruses don't work out quite so well. The main culprits here are "The Giver" which is just kind of limp, and the track "Piano" is a bit to simple and short as well.

Honestly, I found a lot to like on this EP and it has me even more excited for whatever full length projects Mick has planned for the future. Some people may think he strayed to far from what his last tape did, with it's subterranean beats and flows, but I think this is a nice contrast to what  that tape had to offer, so now we'll just have to see how those two worlds mix.

8.0/10 

Royal Headache: High ALBUM REVIEW

If you look back at my Top Albums of 2012 post, you'll see that I thought very highly of this band's last LP. Their self-titled debut was rough around the edges, but featured the infectious energy of old school punk, and vocals that were so soulful, they simply couldn't be denied. 

It's been a couple years, and I was honestly starting to think that maybe Royal Headache were out of the game, because aside from a single released a few months after their debut broke through to an American audience, the band went almost completely silent. However, Royal Headache return with High, an album of similarly catchy and energetic songs that, while not anything new or revolutionary, still manage to be a lot of fun, and certainly worth checking out. 

The album kicks off with " My Own Fantasy" which shows off how much the production quality has improved since their last album, and reassures you that the band hasn't lost their knack for catchy melodies. The title track is also a standout track, with a super memorable melody and decent punk instrumentation backing it all up. 

There are also slower moments here, my personal favorite being the album centerpiece "Wouldn't You Know" which has a sweet sentiment and and even sweeter vocal performance. This track is also followed by probably my favorite track on the album, the track "Garbage". A track that is the antithesis of the preceding track; it's about a person that 'belongs in the trash', it's pretty hilarious and has a fantastic grooving bassline as well. 

Like I said before, High isn't reinventing the wheel, but it does still feature some of the finest vocals of any punk band out there right now, and the improved production does help these songs pop more than they did on the debut. Unfortunately, it also exposes just how bland the instrumentation can be, which didn't bother as much on the last album, but just seems like it should have improved over the last couple of years. 

Also, this album doesn't have any of the more vast instrumental tracks that were on the debut, and just overall feels like more of the same from a band that I wanted more of the same from about 2 years ago. All that aside, I did have a whole lot of fun with this LP, and will certainly be revisiting it throughout the year. 

7.0/10

Mac Demarco: Another One ALBUM REVIEW

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Mac Demarco is a pretty cool guy. He comes off so carefree and lovable in his interviews, and so far, his music has been a mirror of that. However, on his last full length, Mac put some more serious topics on display, such as the thought of growing up and becoming older, maybe a sign that his music needed to grow too? At least that's what I took away from Salad Days, an album that I thought was an overall stronger album than 2.

Now we have this new mini album called Another One, and truth be told; it's his best collection of songs yet. From the noodly and infectious opening guitar licks of "The Way You'd Love Her" to the ambient invitation of "My House On The Water", a track that literally has Mac giving out his address and welcoming everyone to "have a cup of coffee" with him. In between these bookends, we get six tracks that alternate between fast, peppy numbers like "Just To Put Me Down" to slow crooners such as "A Heart Like Her's".

Regardless of the mood of the tracks here, they all share one thing in common, they are almost all uniformly excellent and show that Mac can put together a holistic project when he wants to, since this is easily his most cohesive effort yet, with subject matter mostly revolving around love of all shades. For instance, a track like the amazing "No Other Heart" is the perfect balance of unrequited love mixed in with the kind of humor and soul that Mac has put in his previous music, making a likeable underdog character that we can all relate to.

For an album that only lasts about 25 minutes, Another One is surprisingly fulfilling, and while I wouldn't have minded another track or two, since the closer is really more of an ambient piece, I was still plenty satisfied with what this album had to offer.

8.8/10