As the sole nu metal band to actually grow up, Deftones have outdone themselves time and time again. Whether incorporating lush shoegaze elements or further refining their crunchy down-tuned riffs, the band comfortably exists in a vacuum between rock and metal. Gore, the band’s eighth studio album, does little to dispel this notion. Though it borrows more liberally from Saturday Night Wrist’s glimmering shoegaze, namely on its excellent opener “Prayers/Triangles,” Gore unfortunately falls victim to a dearth of inspiration where verses are concerned. Many of its songs lurch towards enormous choruses without earning much momentum—“Xenon” and “Doomed User” feel especially slight. To make matters worse, Gore continues the unfortunate compression of its predecessors, its mix more claustrophobic than ever. If anything, Gore represents a solid if unspectacular footnote in Deftones’ consistently surprising career.
Though it’s still cold outside, these albums oughta warm you up
It may not seem like it, what with the cold weather and the white snow still occupying our rooftops, but summer is just around the corner. No really. The heat is nearly here and festival season is almost upon us.
With the temperature still hitting the negatives however, it’s understandably a bit hard to get in the swing of things—it’s been a notoriously unpredictable spring season. To help speed it along, here are a handful of albums that oughta get you primed and ready for the year’s most exciting season in music.
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One(Matador, 1997)
Over 30 years strong, Hoboken’s Yo La Tengo have built a career out of noise pop bliss and dreamy, experimental diversions. To put it simply, they are the logical extension of The Velvet Underground. I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, their eighth studio album, found them at the peak of their power, seamlessly blending the cathartic guitar squeals of yore with elegantly subdued ballads and pop sensibilities. What’s always been most striking about Yo La Tengo’s approach to indie rock is the amount of love they imbue into every release, their music having the therapeutic qualities of a nice warm hug. In that sense, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is akin to being hugged by a giant fuzzy teddy bear. Skeptics should just listen to “Green Arrow” as the sun sets following a long, eventful day.
Boredoms – Super Roots 7 (A.K.A., 1998)
Principally known for their cacophonic and incredibly percussive brand of psychedelic noise rock, it’s easy to forget how positively fun Japan’s Boredoms can be—Vision Creation Newsun remains a mainstay for instant happiness. The 1998 three song EP Super Roots 7, however, is something else entirely. A prolonged reconstruction of English punk rock band The Mekons’ classic single “Where Were You?,” Super Roots 7 is an odyssey of sun-baked guitar tones and driving rhythms brimming with droning repetition and pure gleeful joy. Psychedelic rock should always be this fun.
The Congos – Heart of the Congos(Black Art, 1977)
Produced by Jamaican dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry, Heart of the Congos is a warm and mellow voyage through the world of roots reggae and an essential addition to any summer playlist. The Congos have an absolutely infectious energy and some of the most pleasant rhythms around, serving as a healthy and much needed reminder that not all reggae sounds alike. Don’t let those MP3 tags fool you; not all reggae songs are by Bob Marley.
Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Daze(Matador, 2013)
If Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring for My Halo was distinguished by its flanger-drenched guitars and solitary psychedelic vibes, its 2013 follow-up marks a sunny welcome change to his signature formula. With its psychelia stripped down considerably, Vile and his band (known as The Violators) lay down nearly 70 minutes of potent folk rock perfect for the summer season. Singing in a nasally, lackadaisical snarl, Vile exudes more confidence than ever on some of his longest songs to date. If you find yourself digging his stuff, be sure to catch him this summer at Osheaga.
Fela Kuti – He Miss Road(EMI, 1975)
Though much of his work is starkly rooted in politics and largely guided by protest and revolt, Fela Kuti brings a livewire energy to each and every recording that’s nearly impossible not to dance along to. In fact, choosing the best Fela Kuti album is akin to having to pick between your two children—it’s pretty much impossible. 1975’s He Miss Road, however, harbours one of Kuti and band Africa ‘70s best grooves, its horns blaring melodically as the percussive backdrop grows increasingly untamed. Though it may not be their best, He Miss Road showcases Kuti and Africa 70 at their most diabolically infectious. If you want to get people dancing, don’t hesitate with this record.
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses(Silvertone, 1989)
Driven by a playful, sometimes cocky demeanor and glistening jangly guitars, The Stone Roses laid the groundwork for much of the ‘90s alt rock scene with their self-titled debut. As one of the quintessentially hypnotic albums of its time, much of The Stone Roses’ appeal lies in its energetic delivery and warm, cozy psychedelia, with guitarist John Squire layering bright leads over Mani’s punchy basslines. Without a doubt the most important release to emerge from the drug-fueled Baggy/Madchester scene, The Stone Roses’ debut is a heartwarming snapshot in time and a timelessly pleasant record tailor-made for the summer.
Quad City DJ’s – Get on Up and Dance(Atlantic, 1996)
Seriously, if “Summer Jam” or “Stomp-n-Grind” don’t get you moving, nothing will. This is Miami Bass we’re talking about! Get on up and DANCE!
Sarah Neufeld – The Ridge (Paper Bag Records, 2016)
Though best known for her work with Montreal’s Arcade Fire, British Columbia-born violinist Sarah Neufeld has produced her most interesting and experimental work outside of the troupe. On The Ridge, Neufeld revisits many of the sonic concepts and elements she explored with saxophonist Colin Stetson on 2015’s excellent Never Were the Way She Was, ultimately marrying both her minimalism and pop backgrounds. The results, though less exploratory or experimental, are nonetheless filled with mood and meditation, with Neufeld capable of extracting a staggering amount of emotion from sole notes. The opening title track trembles with tension before unfolding into lush vocal arrangements and post-rock-level bombast. The atmosphere is often undone by the album’s percussive elements, its drums bursting violently through the mix. Though unfortunate, it’s not enough to ruin The Ridge’s more striking moments.
Following a pattern that’s become tragically predictable, Scotland’s Primal Scream have followed up one of their most interesting detours (2013’s neo-psychedelic More Light) with something inherently misguided: the synthpop found on Chaosmosis, their 11th record. Singer and founding member Bobby Gillespie ambles through each track, putting on his best New Order, The Human League and Duran Duran impressions to no avail. Gillespie simply sounds mismatched, the material ill-suited for his relaxed voice or his blunt lyrics; “Where the Light Gets In,” an embarrassingly garish duet with Sky Ferreira, illustrates this perfectly. “Golden Rope” provides a brief reprieve, though it does little to validate the band’s jarring experiment. Primal Scream do deserve kudos for continuously switching their approach from album to album. Chaosmosis, however, serves as further proof in regards to where Gillespie’s strengths lie: the psychedelic, not the generic.
Underworld – Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future (Caroline International, 2016)
From its thumping opening track “I Exhale,” Underworld’s Karl Hyde and Rick Smith provide a boisterous and reassuring hug; Barbara Barbara is their first album in six years, though you wouldn’t know it. With Hyde’s signature jargon populating much of the album’s seven tracks, the group pick up right where they left off before slowly drifting towards a more ambient pop direction. Though “If Rah” provides an unwelcome detour, its synths feeling overly synthetic and dull, it’s thrilling to see these progressive house titans making music brimming with genuine love this far into their career. “Low Burn” is a pulsating ride of affection and sensuality, galloping ahead rhythmically with no clear end in sight, while the uplifting closer “Nylon Strung” is simply breathtaking. In one fell swoop, Underworld reassert their place in the electronic world.
On his 12th solo release, singer/songwriter Bob Mould has crafted, well, a Bob Mould record, for better or worse. With personal, introspective themes matched in sharp contrast against his signature fuzz-drenched power pop, there’s little that truly separates Patch the Sky from his catalogue, though that’s not entirely a bad thing. Since forming and shuttering his post-Hüsker Dü power pop trio Sugar, Mould’s gone to the power pop well and back, exploring every inch of the genre’s angular and sweet trappings. If Silver Age was a return to Sugar’s noisier days, Patch the Sky finds the singer honing his candy-coated formula into an even more immediately approachable direction, its lyrical themes notwithstanding. It’s a ride largely devoid of surprises or innovation, serving as a reminder of Bob Mould’s potency when armed with a Stratocaster and a fuzz box.
Meditative and relaxing, don’t sleep on these hip hop classics
On March 23, hip hop lost A Tribe Called Quest’s Malik Izaak Taylor, better known by his stage name Phife Dawg. With fellow members Q-Tip, Jarobi White and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife helped further redefine hip hop’s image from one of boisterous tough guy posturing to one of cultural pride. Utilizing a bevy of iconic soul samples and dexterous jazz rhythms, A Tribe Called Quest pioneered an innovative sound primarily dictated by its cool, laid back atmosphere; jazz rap.
The sub-genre has since evolved, its influence felt from the underground all the way to the mainstream. In honor of the late Phife Dawg, here are some of the most vividly detailed and intricate records from the mellow world of jazz rap.
Though its beats are often based from manipulated samples from jazz records, jazz rap also occasionally features live instrumentation, sometimes provided by jazz legends themselves. Photo by Sachitha Obeysekara from Flickr.
A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory(1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993)
Building from their debut, the critically and commercially successful People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, A Tribe Called Quest essentially revolutionized the hip hop genre with their sophomore release. Retaining their playful and socially conscious lyricism, The Low End Theory also saw producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad employing distinct samples culled from jazz records, lending the record a cool, sophisticated atmosphere. The album also marked the true arrival of Phife Dawg; though he appeared on their debut, Phife’s contributions were relegated to only a few verses, with Q-Tip handling the rest. With a singular, high-pitched voice, the rapper introduced a playful, self-deprecating style to the group’s already defined chemistry while never mincing words when it came to social issues.
With The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest’s potency and importance were proven. With Midnight Marauders however, the group’s legacy was firmly solidified. Finding a middle ground between their debut’s soul-based beats and The Low End Theory’s moody jazz backdrops, Midnight Marauders saw the group exploring urban social issues and more personal themes to stunning effect. The album also spawned the group’s highest charting single, the cheery, celebratory “Award Tour.”
Digable Planets – Blowout Comb (1994)
Though their debut Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) found modest success based on the strength of its hit single “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” Digable Planets were unable to replicate its commercial performance with their second studio record. It’s a real shame given how Blowout Comb layers every inch of space with rich jazz samples and even more sumptuous live instrumentation, crafting a record that’s in turn more engrossing and rewarding than its predecessor. Though audibly breezy and chilled out, Digable Planets tackle themes of black nationalism and inner city struggles head on, painting a dour yet hopeful portrait of the east coast in the ‘90s. In short, Blowout Comb represents jazz rap at its most lavish and transportative.
Count Bass D – Dwight Spitz(2002)
While a more straightforward hip hop effort by Count Bass D, Dwight Spitz’s dreamy production and speedy, abrupt song lengths grants it an ethereal, comforting quality. With a laundry list of guest spots and collaborators, from producer J. Rawls to the enigmatic supervillain MF DOOM, Count Bass D creates a vivid tableau rife with soothing melodies and infectious hooks. What’s most surprising about the rapper/producer is how modestly and genuinely he depicts himself, detailing his love for his family, his kids, his friends and his religious beliefs. Though it’s often been compared to J Dilla’s Donuts and Madvillain’s Madvillainy, most notably for its short songs, Dwight Spitz is pretty unique, utilizing jazz rap tropes in wholly unconventional ways.
Nujabes – Metaphorical Music(2003)
Sharing a birthday with the late great producer and beatmaker J Dilla, Japan’s Jun Seba, better known as Nujabes, was equally prolific. Though his career came to a tragic end in 2010, Nujabes became known across the pond thanks to his distinctively mellowed out beats on the hit anime Samurai Champloo. Metaphorical Music, his solo debut, is a life-affirming collection of sultry smooth jazz-drenched melodies and banging instrumental hip hop beats brimming with passion. With socially conscious verses by frequent collaborators Substantial, Pase Rock, Cise Star and Shing02, Nujabes provides a intoxicatingly meditative backbone to each track. If Blowout Comb represents jazz rap at its most musical, Metaphorical Music is quite possibly the sub-genre’s most relaxing offering.
As pleasant and genuinely competent as Jeff Buckley’s covers have always been, there’s a decidedly unflattering allure to You and I, the latest posthumous release. Made up of raw demos recorded for Columbia Records prior to his solo album, Grace, Buckley solitarily runs through a wide assortment of covers, his voice as singular as ever. If its release feels a little pointless however, it’s because it is; nearly all of these songs have appeared on better live records in one form or another. As the already modest Buckley vaults are scraped clean, the question of posthumous boundaries is once again put back into question. Few posthumous releases truly feel necessary and You and I is no different, its purpose simply to put Buckley’s name back into people’s heads. Not every single found recording is deserving of an official release.
Formed in Sherbrooke, QC, Gorguts are one of technical death metal’s most boldly original voices, their 1998 album Obscura defying conventions. Photo by Jimmy Hubbard.
Sometimes weird and heavy collide to form something wholly rewarding
Though experimental in nature, avant-garde art tends to push past convention and move right into the absurdist and the bizarre. Many works of its ilk defy fixed categorization due to their bewilderingly unfamiliar content, often pushing past what is deemed normal in an effort to shake up the playing field. Needless to say, the avant-garde is often seen as a provocation to the status quo.
Formed in Sherbrooke, QC, Gorguts are one of technical death metal’s most boldly original voices, their 1998 album Obscura defying conventions. Photo by Jimmy Hubbard.
So what happens when you apply these forward-thinking concepts to heavy metal music? You get something genuinely weird and wholly spectacular. Amalgamating elements from other disparate genres in refreshingly postmodern ways, avant-garde metal is primarily distinguished by its willingness to go all the way. After all, there’s nothing wrong with being weird, especially when it just means being yourself.
Due to heavy metal’s comparatively late arrival in music, avant-garde metal took a considerable amount of time to become established, the moniker often ascribed to artists and releases that defied convention and utilized unconventional song structures. Some of the genre’s forebears, like Celtic Frost and the inimitable Mr. Bungle, only began appearing towards the tail end of the ‘80s. With the turn of the decade however came a wave of creative and equally unpredictable bands and projects, from the harsh dissonance of John Zorn’s Naked City to the sultry saxophone-infused death metal of Sweden’s Pan.Thy.Monium.
Singer Mike Patton cut his teeth in these parts, leading the aforementioned Mr. Bungle to critical success before unexpectedly transitioning into the spotlight as weirdo alt-metal outfit Faith No More’s frontman and principal songwriting force. With the band’s dissolution in 1997 came a return to far-out experimentation for Patton, most notably in his off-kilter supergroup Fantômas. Composed of Melvins brainchild King Buzzo on guitar, ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, Mr. Bungle’s Trevor Dunn on bass and Patton on vocals, Fantômas’ discography is one defined by its conceptually charged nature, each album focusing on a specific idea.
The Director’s Cut, the band’s 2001 sophomore album, finds Patton and his co-horts masterfully reinterpreting classic film themes; the band turn Nino Rota’s iconic The Godfather theme into a spastic thrash assault full of bestial screams and yelps. Patton’s vocal range is the star of the show, bouncing manically from inhuman shrieks to lounge-y crooning, effortlessly switching gears to the tune of the band. What’s most apparent is the group’s clear love for the material, granting each theme a tasteful, albeit boldly experimental arrangement filled with surprises.
While metal is still relatively young and growing, its sub-genres previously deemed ‘avant-garde’ often the subject of reevaluation and rigid categorization, some bands simply live outside of these realms. Enter Japan’s Sigh. Increasingly boisterous and uniformly bizarre with each passing album, the band had its start in relatively straightforward symphonic black metal, its philosophical lyrical content notwithstanding.
Though their third album Hail Horror Hail marked the start of their formal experimentation, diving deep into elements of progressive metal and ‘80s speed metal, 2001’s Imaginary Sonicscape represents their most eclectic and unique release yet. Throwing singer Mirai Kawashima’s black metal growls into a bemusing assortment of psychedelic rock riffs, disco-infused synthesizers and progressive metal song structures, Sigh have fun with a literal smorgasbord of genres and sonic elements. What Imaginary Sonicscape lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in fun, genuine weirdness.
Though often credited as wacky, avant-garde metal isn’t limited to circus-like theatrics and aggressively weird turns. Take Sherbrooke-born death metal band Gorguts for example. Born in the golden age of death metal, Gorguts’s penchant for technically driven riffs and rhythm sections came to define them, their second album The Erosion of Sanity paving the way for many technically-inclined bands.
That being said, nothing prepared the world for Gorguts’ third album, 1998’s Obscura. Driven by its frenzied rhythm section, atonal riffs and unconventional pick scratching techniques, Obscura remains unmatched in its cryptic dissonance. It’s a testament to Gorguts’ strengths that death metal this challenging and mind-boggling can feel so organic, its crunchy production lending each snare hit and crushing riff its necessary weight. Unlike many of its contemporaries, the band never confuses technicality for genuine songwriting, each labyrinthine composition packed with soul and purpose. In a world where an album as intensely forward-thinking and avant-garde as Obscura exists, it’s pretty hard to settle for anything less, even nearly 20 years later.
As challenging as it can be, don’t let its suffix fool you; avant-garde metal isn’t reserved for art-scholars. On the contrary, it’s home to some of the most innovative and otherworldly forms of heavy metal yet. Dig in.
For a series of outtakes, Kendrick Lamar’s untitled unmastered. is remarkably assured. Recorded sometime during the To Pimp a Butterfly sessions, Lamar explores similar themes while embracing an almost suffocatingly moody backdrop of jazz rap instrumentals and experimental form. “untitled 02” features hauntingly disembodied vocals from the rapper, its instrumental rattling with an absolutely guttural bass hum. Most impressively, untitled unmastered. showcases an incredibly diverse array of sounds; “untitled 06” expertly utilizes Cee Lo Green over a soulful Ali Shaheed Muhammad-produced beat while “untitled 07” fuses jazz and trap rap stylings to stunning effect. It’s yet more proof that Lamar is truly in a league of his own. If anything, untitled unmastered. just makes Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, a purportedly finished product of scattershot mixtape-like quality, look worse for wear.
yndi halda – Under Summer (Big Scary Monsters, 2016)
It only took 11 years but Canterbury post-rock outfit yndi halda has at last followed up their acclaimed tearjerker Enjoy Eternal Bliss. Though Under Summer doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, yndi halda provide a melancholic tapestry caked in blissful crescendos and gorgeous indulgence, often recalling the glory days of the genre. Centerpiece “Helena” explodes with catharsis only to amble onwards with a gorgeous krautrock-inspired groove, its strings providing a tasteful, passionate decor. This also happens to be the only track without vocals, an addition that, while commendable, doesn’t feel particularly necessary; “Golden Threads From the Sun” feels at odds with itself, its boisterous climaxes often interrupted by muttered, non-descript vocals. It’s a testament to the band’s careful affinity that crescendos this overladen and predictable can still instill a sense of awe and wonder. Welcome back.
As unexpected as its central collaboration seemed, Post Pop Depression is uniformly predictable, its distinct Joshua Homme-tinged production quirks on full display. Tentatively Iggy Pop’s final album, Post Pop Depression is adept where it matters, showcasing glimmers of the singer that was while putting his contemporary, shaky baritone to great use. Lead single “Gardenia” injects a haunting quality to the singer’s timbre, its jangly, jagged guitars riding into the sunset. Though unashamedly an effort to channel the glory days of Pop’s early solo years, Homme’s attempts to pare down his desert rock stylings ultimately fall flat. The results are undeniably “Homme rock,” often sounding like little more than an Iggy Pop-fronted Queens of the Stone Age. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. At 68, Pop is still a powerhouse presence and Post Pop Depression mostly highlights his livewire talent.
