DOOM
Born Like This
Lex Records; 2009
7/10
After a four-year absence from the indie rap set, and dropping the “MF” from his name, DOOM is back. And he’s still dropping insane rhyme patterns and memorable lines. On “Microwave Mayonnaise” he raps: “Hold it down like Shatner do Spock/Rapper jocks need to put a sock in their chatter box,” over a Jake One-produced disco funk beat. Madlib also contributes a beat for the nasally nerd rapper to get busy with, called “Absolutely.” Some members of Wu-Tang also show up: Raekwon on “Yessir!” and Ghostface Killah on “Angelz.”
DOOM is strong enough, both lyrically and musically, to make an album entirely solo (with enough weed and comic books in the studio); but the best tracks here are the posthumous appearances of Bukowski (with his “Dinosauria, We” poem) on “Cellz” and J Dilla’s masterful beats on “Lightworks” and “Gazzillion Ear.”
-Jon Dempsey
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Julie Doiron
I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day
Endearing Records; 2009
8.5/10
I Can Wonder What you Did With Your Day is the newest release from Canadian singer-songwriter Julie Doiron. She manages to salvage the staples of folk rock while creating an entirely original album. Working with only the normal array of rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums and occasionally the keyboard), Doiron is nevertheless able to have each song be distinct from the rest. “Spill Yer Lungs,” is an exemplary example of Doiron’s bluesy and melancholic side, while “The Life of Dreams,” is perhaps the most optimistic and uplifting song of 2009 (thus far), with birds chirping in the background as a simple, yet very rhythmic, acoustic guitar carries her soft voice across the song.
Doiron also manages to appeal to her French fan base – being Acadian herself – with “Je Le Savais.”
-Tyler Alty
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Death
…For The Whole World To See
Drag City; 2009
8/10
The back-story to Death is almost as interesting as the music: three African American brothers from Detroit, heavily-influenced by the hard rock of The Stooges and MC5, form a band, record a demo, and then disappear. This was in 1975 – and they were pretty much playing punk rock before The Ramones or the Sex Pistols would shock Lower Manhattan and London.
After refusing to change the name of their band to appease record executives, they were dropped from Columbia, moved to Vermont, and faded into obscurity as a raggae/gospel group.
The seven proto-punk songs they recorded remained essentially unheard for the 34 next years, save for 500 copies of a 7″ split single of “Politicians in My Eyes” and “Keep on Knocking,” until the full album was released by Drag City (thank jeebus). This album is a total gem.
-Jon Dempsey
