The Weeknd: Starboy ALBUM REVIEW

The Weeknd has been on an upward swing to stardom (pun not intended) ever since he dropped a reissue of his three mixtapes called Trilogy, which overshadowed (unsurprisingly) his major label debut, Kiss Land. Now, I'll be honest here, as I so often am, that I'm not that big of a Weeknd fan. In fact, Echoes Of Silence was the last full length project from him that I though was at least worth listening to in its entirety. Now that's not to say that singles from his last album, Beauty Behind The Madness weren't worthwhile, especially the likes of "Can't Feel My Face" and "Tell Your Friends". But that album as a whole was incredibly spotty and inconsistent, a trend that hasn't totally been squashed on his latest LP, Starboy, but one that has been alleviated a bit.

In fact, I'll go ahead and point out my main complaint with Starboy right off the bat; it has too much filler. Keep in mind, with 18 tracks here, there was bound to be some filler, but I think it is especially egregious here, because these filler tracks, such as "Party Monster", "Stargirl Interlude" and "All I Know" are roadblocks between what are in my opinion, some of The Weeknd's strongest material ever. If the tracklist had been trimmed down by around 5 or 6 songs, I honestly think this album would be a shoe-in for my top 10 albums.

But, lets not wallow in what could of been. Instead I will reinforce my point; tracks like "Starboy" and the Michael Jackson influenced "A Lonely Night" are excellent tracks that push The Weeknd's songs style in a new and exciting direction, while tracks like "Reminder" and "Sidewalks" play with instrumental styles that are familiar to The Weeknd, but he takes the opportunity to be a bit more personal, especially "Reminder", where for the first time, I feel like Abel is dealing with the subject of fame with some modicum of maturity.

Plus, I've gotta give it up to the likes of Daft Punk and Kendrick for elevating their respective tracks to excellence. This is the kind class in terms of features that previous Weeknd albums (and this one in some areas *cough* Future *cough*) have really lacked.

Would I recommend this LP, despite some serious filler and other issues? Why yes, I would. Like I said the tracks outside of the filler are excellent, and it is only because of those filler tracks that I'm not head over heels for Starboy. But all the same, this is an enjoyable LP for sure.

8.0/10

Metallica: Hardwired... To Self Destruct ALBUM REVIEW

It is no secrect on this blog that I have a lot of love for Metallica, though that love does wane the farther away from the 80's their discography gets. I think the self-titled LP is really good, but I think Load and Re-Load are only just okay. And yes, I don't like St. Anger; however, I did find a few cuts off Death Magnetic to be really great, and showed that the band was still able to channel their older, more thrash-based selves when they wanted to. So, expectations for what the band would do next were pretty high... fast forward 8 years and Metallica have FINALLY released their follow-up, Hardwired... To Self Destruct.

And if the title wasn't enough to tip the Metallica fans that the band would be hearkening back to the glory days with its overt reference to my personal favorite Metallica record ... And Justice For All.
And the teaser singles only confirmed fans suspicions, especially with cuts like "Atlas, Rise" which sounds like it could of been on Ride The Lightning, sans the screech that James Hetfield used to possess. But the real question remained, would this two disc, 80 minute album live up to the lofty expectation set by its title and singles? In my opinion, it does.

In fact, I can honestly say, with no exaggeration that this is the best album Metallica have put out since the self-titled album, maybe even ...And Justice For All. The first disc especially comes through with one heavy-hitter after another, "Hardwired" is a super fast thrash song that could have been on the band's debut, "Moth Into Flame" is a track that tips its hat to inspiration such as early Iron Maiden, and "Halo On Fire" synthesizes the sounds of Load/ Re-Load with that of the self-titled which leads to one of the most dynamic tracks that the band has released in decades.

And the second disc is no slouch either (despite what most other internet critics would have you believe) with tracks like "Here Comes Revenge", a dreary, sinister number and the tribute to metal legend Lemmy with "Murder One". And of course I can't forget the single greatest thing Metallica has done in the about 25 years, the track "Spit Out The Bone". This track is everything that makes Metallica great, the speed, the ferocity, and James' apocalyptic lyricism. "Spit Out The Bone" is easily one of the most enjoyable metal tracks I've listened to this year, and maybe even the last few years if I'm being completely honest.

Overall, Metallica just sounds so revitalized on this record, especially James, who sounds better than he has since the self-titled album. If I had to find things to complain about it would be Lars' tendency to stick to the same kinds of drum patters, a complaint that has been prevalent for the last few Metallica albums, and a couple of the tracks here pale in comparison to others, such as "Confusion" or "Now That We're Dead". Though I must reiterate, none of the tracks on Hardwired are bad, and most of them are stunningly awesome. My horns are raised in affirmation, Metallica is back.

8.8/10

Bruno Mars: 24k Magic ALBUM REVIEW

Four years ago there were few pop artists less likely to draw my attention than Bruno Mars. At least in terms of the material he was putting on his own albums, the kind of music he was producing was the kind of overly slick, overly sappy nonsense that is guaranteed to make even the most rigid of attention spans go completely flaccid... mine included.

Of course, there was one notable exception in Bruno's repertoire, the infectious, Michael Jackson infused "Treasure" a track that had no business being on the same album as trite filler like "Gorilla" and "When I Was Your Man"; two songs that received far more radio play, unfortunately. "Treasure" pointed out a very important fact; Mars is at his best when he is trying to replicate older forms of pop, this fact was given even more evidence when the track "Uptown Funk" dominated the charts in 2015, and at that point, Bruno seemed to realize the power that he possessed. So, with a full band in tow, Bruno got to work; the result, 24k Magic, an album that I wholeheartedly love from top to bottom.

Simply put, everything that I liked about "Treasure" and "Uptown Funk" has been refined and amped up on this LP. The 9 tracks on offer here are tight, catchy, and pay homage to key artists in pop, R&B, and funk, but almost never come off as mere imitation, save for "Perm" where the James Brown influence takes over completely; still a good tune though. My favorite moments however come in the form of three key tracks, "24k Magic" is synth-funk perfection that is an absolute jam, I'd be surprised if doesn't get as much attention as "Uptown Funk" did. Then we have the slow jam masterwork "Versace on the Floor", a track I wasn't able to embrace fully, until I let my cynicism guard down and then there's "Finesse", an honest-to-God revival of new jack swing that is a distilled version of all the positive qualities of that entire genre.

Of course, there are other great tracks here, "Straight Up & Down" is a sexy little number and "Calling All My Lovlies" is a hilarious track about a girl who is ignoring Bruno, the track even ends by revealing the girl in question... a pretty great reveal in my opinion.

If there's one truly weak aspect of this album, it would have to be the lack of variety in song topic, but honestly, this is an album that is mostly paying homage to various R&B sounds from the past 30 years, so I can't really fault most of the tracks for being about love, being a ladies man and sex. However, another track or two would have been appreciated, because 33 minutes is a bit brief.

Regardless, this is hands down my pop album of the year, and I highly recommend that you give it a listen, even if (like me) most of Bruno's back catalog makes you wince.

9.0/10

A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service ALBUM REVIEW

It's been 18 years since the release of the last Tribe LP, The Love Movement; an album that in my opinion, failed to live up to any of the groups previous material. So, when I heard that Tribe were back in the studio, working on another album, I got a cold chill down my spine (perhaps a residual one from my Indy Cindy review). Pile on top of the that the groups long and storied past of not getting along very well in the years between this album and The Love Movement, and the sad passing of founding member Phife Dawg, and you have an album that has a LOT to prove. Luckily, I think it proves itself admirably; in fact, I'm confident in saying that in my honest opinion, this is the best Tribe album since Midnight Marauders.

We Got It From Here... possesses that quality of the best of the groups discography, it has a smooth jazzy atmosphere, but doesn't skim over making an intellectual statement, or even a political one, such as "We The People...", a track that I feel is so in tune with the times, it shows just how honed in Tribe was during the recording of this LP. Actually, that was the first thing I noticed when first listening through this album; and that was just how in touch it is. Not just politically, but musically; Tribe doesn't rely on hollow nostalgia or self-reinvention to make the tracks, but instead, We Got It From Here... comes across as the next logical step for Tribe. Another album that found itself in a similar situation was the last D'Angelo album, Black Messiah, both LP's look back just enough for the listener to make connections with past material, but they both end up marching forward without caving into modern trends or fads. There are no trap high-hats or soulless drug raps here.

One trend that finds it's way on to this album (though Tribe have been doing this since Low End Theory) is heavy use of features on most of the tracks here. Guys like Busta Rhymes, Anderson Paak, and Kendrick Lamar all make appearances here. However, unlike so many feature-heavy rap albums released these days, the features actually elevate the tracks that they are on, and hey, they even stick to the actual topic of the song! But luckily, the features do not outshine the core members, especially Q-Tip and Phife, both of which drop some of their best bars ever on this record. Even early Tribe member Jarobi who hasn't been on a Tribe record since the debut comes through with some fantastic lines and flows. And I can't describe how great it felt to here Phife on the majority of this LP, he is my favorite member of Tribe, and the fact that he got to spit on another Tribe record before he passed, makes losing him a bit easier to deal with. R.I.P Phife.

In my opinion, this is not only a fantastic comeback/ swansong, but it is an album that I think rap music really needed this year. And I know I have given high praise to trap rap albums before, in fact I think that flavor of rap has its own important role to play, but the fact that We Got It From Here... speaks to the current climate of America so well, all while remaining hopeful, and even fun album is proof that we've been sorely in need of more groups like Tribe in modern rap.

9.6/10

Conor Oberst: Ruminations ALBUM REVIEW

I hold a special place in my heart for Conor Oberst's musical output under the Bright Eyes moniker. Time and time again, he and his band managed to capture the heart and soul of great folk music all while telling stories that are distinctly modern. Such as the opener to I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning which tells the story of a plane that crashes into the sea, but Conor paints the picture of its passengers so beautifully and drives the built-up emotions home with a song that is as powerful and profound as it is sad and contemplative. It is sad then that none of Mr. Oberst's solo material has roused anything greater than a mild shrug in me for the last few years. I've always felt that he simply buried himself in too much instrumentation, and his vocals just sounded to self-assured and clean, nothing like the cool quiver of his Bright Eyes work.

However, with Ruminations, Conor finally manages to bring back the brilliance of prime Bright Eyes with an album that I feel is simply the finest singer-songwriter of the year. Ruminations is just that, Conor visits moments from his own life and paints one beautiful lyrical portrait after another. I found tracks like "Gossamer Thin" especially moving with just how effortlessly Conor weaves such confident and fragile melodies over such sparse instrumentation.

That's another thing; this album's instrumentation has been reduced to essentially only the bear necessities. Basically, every instrument you see on the cover was used to record this LP, nothing more. And as I've always said, this is where Conor is at his finest, when he can just let his songwriting chops shine. And shine they do, with tracks that range from achingly beautiful to downright sinister ("Counting Sheep" is especially grim). But then we get some more political leaning tracks, not a unique song concept for Conor, but here, he seems more self-assured and confident about his beliefs, unlike some of his solo material where it almost felt like he had to prove himself. The track that best illustrates this is the track "A Little Uncanny" which reminds me of Blonde on Blonde/ Blood on the Tracks era Dylan, and takes pop culture figures from American history and shows how they effected various parts of culture.

It has  been a very long time since I've felt the need to talk about a Conor Oberst/ Bright Eyes project at such length, and I think that says more than any amount of laborious praise-filled text ever could. Simply put, listen to this album.

9.2/10