Category: Music

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Music

Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo has aged like fine wine

Five years after the release of Kanye’s eclectic opus, the album still stands as one of his best

5 years ago on Valentine’s day, one of the most polarizing figures in music, Kanye West, released his seventh studio album, The Life Of Pablo. This is, in retrospect, Kanye’s most versatile and accessible project.

Despite its release, the album was not totally ready yet. Kanye kept changing and adjusting the album even months after its initial drop. On the original version, the song “Wolves” featured Frank Ocean, and he sang the first verse with his angelic voice. On the new and adjusted version of “Wolves,” we see Kanye sing the first verse while drowning in autotune and the Frank Ocean verse is now its own song, “Frank’s Track.”

The mixing of the album also saw a noticeable change to some tracks, like on the songs “Fade” and “Waves.” The biggest modification of the album came four months later when the track “Saint Pablo” featuring R&B singer Sampha was added to the record.

The Life of Pablo was produced by Kanye himself with the help of other producers, most notably longtime collaborators Rick Rubin and Mike Dean. The project is also loaded with features from some of the most notorious names in music. Key features on the album include artists such as The Weeknd on “FML,” which brings a heartfelt chorus to the track, and Kendrick Lamar who has one of the best verses of the entire album on “No More Parties In LA.”

As usual, Kanye likes to work with artists from a variety of genres other than rap and The Life Of Pablo makes no exception of this, with features from singer-songwriter Bon Iver, Pop artist Sia, and even R&B singer Ty Dolla $ign.

Even after being in the game for more than 15 years, Kanye wasn’t afraid to try new things and sounds when he made The Life Of Pablo. On this album, Kanye shines as a producer by giving something for everyone, as he borrows a slight portion from every one of his records. Whether it be on the Yeezus-influenced and aggressive “Feedback” or on the soulful sampled instrumental on The College Dropout-influenced “No More Parties In LA,” Kanye always tries to pull from his older albums.

The Life Of Pablo is also extremely consistent. Whether it be from the poignant Chance The Rapper verse and choral vocals on the chorus of the powerful opener “Ultralight Beam,” to the goosebump-giving performance of Sampha on the closer “Saint Pablo,” Kanye and his contributors do not seem to miss on this project.

Not only was Kanye in great shape when it came to the production of this album, but he also brought his A-game when it came to his lyrical prowess. Whether he is rapping about his debt problems and his biggest concerns on “Saint Pablo,” or talking about not being sure if he can trust anyone (even doubting friendships with the people closest to him) on “Real Friends,” Kanye always finds a way to be interesting and to keep the listener captivated.

Kanye still manages to retain his signature humour, shown especially on “30 Hours” (“I used the Western Union for you like it’s no prob” / ‘Cause you was in college complainin’ about its no jobs / But you were suckin’ a n***a’s dick the whole time / Well I guess a blowjob’s better than no job”). Ye also is not afraid of a little bit of controversy by throwing shots to people like Taylor Swift on the song “Famous” or Kim Kardashian’s ex, Ray J on “Highlights.”

“No More Parties In LA” is basically a clash of the titans with three of the most acclaimed minds in hip hop: Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and legendary producer Madlib. This song is a highlight on the record that sees all of them at the top of their game to bless us with one for the history books.

Even five years after its release, The Life Of Pablo is still relevant to this day, and is even more appreciated by fans and critics than when originally released, mostly due to the quality of the record and Kanye’s immaculate etiquette. This album serves as a benchmark in his discography as he proved he had a burning passion and undeniable talent. This album was also the first Kanye album that did not see him revolutionize one sound, and it demonstrates how eclectic he is. This album undoubtedly strengthened his already legendary legacy by adding another classic under his belt, to solidify his place as one of the best to ever do it.

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: MOD SUN – Internet Killed The Rockstar

MOD SUN mixes anger with irony to express his emotions in his new album

About three years since the release of his third studio album, MOD SUN’s Internet Killed The Rockstar came out on Feb.12. Although he has released a few singles over the past two years, this is his first album since becoming sober in 2019.

His previous albums were more focused on rapping, so there was a huge shift in style on Internet Killed The Rockstar. His music is a bit less cheery and more personal, but the sarcastic lyrics make up for it.

The first three songs, “Karma,” “Bones,” and “Flames” (featuring Avril Lavigne), are reminiscent of an early 2000s pop-punk feel, which is a good preview of what the rest of the album looks like.

The overall character of this record lies between anger and sarcasm, which fits the grunge vibe MOD SUN was going for. It can be heard in the more upbeat songs where drums and electric guitar are prominent, such as “Karma,” “TwentyNUMB,” and “Pornstar.”

“Karma” opens the album’s edgier side, as the track’s anger feels like it could be directed at a particular person. The lyrics are simple, yet straight to the point, which makes them powerful (“I hope you choke on every lie you said to me / I hope you move out of this city suddenly / I hope you get everything you deserve / Karma’s a bitch, I heard”).

However, MOD SUN still manages to reel us into his world and life experiences, especially on slower songs like “Rollercoaster,” where he compares his sobriety to a rollercoaster ride (“Somebody get me off this ride / I’m no good when I get this high”). He’s sharing his battle with everyone, but it also sounds like he was saying it to himself and trying to accept that he was struggling to become sober.

On “Smith,” he sings about his deceased father. While the song is slower-paced than most, and piano can also be heard, the drums are also pronounced and give the song an angry (rather than sad) vibe. This is especially recognizable in the bridge where MOD SUN sings “Your love left me so fucked up / You left me so fucked up,” and then screams “you left me.”

He collaborated with Avril Lavigne on “Flames,” and while the beat is good and catchy, there are only two short verses, which makes it seem like the song solely consists of the chorus and post-chorus, making the lyrics a bit too repetitive. This is the only official collaboration between the two artists, but Lavigne’s vocals also seem to be heard as backup in “Annoying.” This adds more dimension to the song as their voices mix well together.

The album ends with “Internet Killed The Rockstar,” which is a slower-paced song. MOD SUN seems like he is blaming someone who used the internet, and perhaps, social media, to “kill the rockstar,” which could refer to someone trying to end his career. The lines “I know what it’s like to be hated / From a city where nobody else feels like me / I had the whole world in my head,” can be interpreted as him saying that while he used to feel judged and hated, he no longer cares about what people think.

Overall, MOD SUN accomplished what he wanted to with this album, which was to express feelings of anger and maybe some sadness, mixed with irony. The use of loud drums throughout the record also definitely helped to convey this edgy feel.

This new style on Internet Killed The Rockstar is just the beginning of MOD SUN’s career after sobriety, as he shows that he can successfully pique his listeners’ curiosity and interest — to not only hear about his music, but also his life.

 

Rating: 7.5/10

Trial Track: “TwentyNUMB”

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: JPEGMAFIA – EP2!

Despite EP2! being a lot less ambitious than most of his previous efforts, JPEGMAFIA still puts out some enjoyable songs

JPEGMAFIA, one of Baltimore’s most innovative and ground-breaking voices in hip hop, returned with his second EP in as many months. EP2! contains seven songs where we see the rapper going towards a softer and moodier direction than on previous projects, while surfing on the instrumentals with a soothing, autotuned voice.

This EP sees Peggy playing it safe with the production and vocals, which is not within his usual habits, as he tends not to hold back. He usually goes out of his way to find some of the weirdest possible sounds, which helped him build a cult following. The production of this short project borrows a lot of the same sounds, so much so that it feels like the songs blend into each other, especially in the first half of the release.

“FIX URSELF!” is easily one of the best singles he has ever put out. On this track, he sounds as braggadocious and confident as ever, while flowing on the contagious beat with a smooth autotune. He delivers a memorable hook which makes the song sound like a celebratory track. This number contains everything you would want from a JPEGMAFIA song.

The next song “KELTEC!” sees the MC hop on a similar instrumental as on “FIX URSELF!” with the snares, light claps and synth horns all being featured prominently, albeit without the same charisma and catchiness that the previous tune had.

Although he used similar sounds on the first four tracks, he switches it up on the last three. This is especially notable on “PANIC ROOM!” which is the closest JPEGMAFIA has come to recreating his classic abrasive and ear-challenging sound. This track contains some weird drum patterns and sounds that work well with his flow on the song. This is by far the most experimental song on this micro-album and it sounds like it could have been on Veteran.

“THIS ONES FOR US!” and “FEED ME!” are smoother and more relaxed songs that see him approaching some more mainstream and contemporary sounds like the elegant guitar chords on the back end of “FEED ME!” or the sweet metallic bell on “THIS ONES FOR US!”

While JPEGMAFIA does not take as many risks as he did on EP!, which was way more adventurous and daring than EP2!, he still serves us a great appetizer for a possible upcoming album.

 

Score: 7/10

Trial track: FIX URSELF!

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Music

It’s time to give Hayley Williams her ‘FLOWERS’

Paramore’s music has soundtracked an unfathomable amount of moments throughout my lifetime, but the moments of consistent comfort that their music has brought me during the last year are indescribably important. It’s these moments that have also led me to realize that Hayley Williams is a genius, and one of the most important artists of the last 20 years.

While Paramore was an integral part of the emo/pop-punk boom of the mid-to-late 2000s, Williams is an outlier amongst her peers, and for all the right reasons. The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is arguably the only artist to emerge from that scene and have maintained relevance for this long. She’s transcended her status as the emo/pop-punk poster girl and definitively cemented herself as an icon in modern pop culture.

Throughout the 16 years since Paramore’s debut, Williams has been an absolute trailblazer. She’s been an integral part of now-classic releases, brazenly explored several different genres and sounds, and has successfully ventured outside of music as well, all the while staying true to herself. She’s made a career out of experimenting, daring to be different and never letting herself be put into a box, and it’s made her one of the most eclectic and adventurous artists of her generation.

After Williams and Paramore released their moderately successful debut, 2005’s All We Know Is Falling, they’d garnered a pretty substantial buzz. They were full of potential and Williams was at the centre of that. This potential was quickly realized as their 2007 effort Riot! saw them break through, and cause a massive shift in the emo/pop-punk landscape.

Paramore’s impact was immediate and it was immense. The success of Riot! saw the group rapidly ascend to the top of the emo/pop-punk scene, alongside already-established acts like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. More importantly, it made Hayley Williams a household name in a genre that was historically dominated by men, and placed her at the very top, where she stayed.

This was a monumental moment for the scene, and was only achievable for the band because of Williams’ ability to capture the listener. Through her universally-relatable lyrical content and phenomenal and riveting vocal performances, she was able to connect to listeners on what felt like a personal level.

Throughout their subsequent releases, the band saw various shifts in their lineup and with 2009’s Brand New Eyes and 2013’s Paramore, and slowly evolved to adopt a more eclectic alternative rock sound. They took their evolution even further with their magnificent 2017 new wave/synth-pop opus, After Laughter, and though these changes occurred, there was always one constant; Hayley Williams is the face, the heart and the soul of Paramore.

She’s what hooked listeners in. Yes, the music was fantastic, but her vulnerability and relatability made it connect, and in 2021, two projects into her solo career, that is a fact that is more apparent than ever. While 2020’s Petals for Armour was a good collection of songs, Williams’ latest release FLOWERS for VASES / descansos feels like her proper debut as a solo artist.

It’s an excellent album, the first on which she’s played every single instrument, written every song and produced everything herself, making for an incredibly intimate piece of art. It’s a stripped-back, folksy and introspective album that sees the singer somberly working through the emotional toll that her divorce has taken on her.

That’s the thing that’s always set Williams apart from her peers: her vulnerability. She’s always presented her emotions earnestly and openly, and utilized her dynamic vocal range to evoke a range of emotions in the listener. It’s been ever present in her discography, regardless of the sound attached to it and the through line that makes the music so easy to connect with.

Even now, with her fanbase aging, the music is growing with them. It’s easy to see how the person who gave us “All I Wanted” grew older and matured, arriving at “No Use I Just Do.” The sentiments are similar, but she’s no longer delivering them with rage and fire, but rather sharing a subdued reflection and confessing those feelings.

Williams’ openness and relatability has been the essence of every single one of her releases so far, both solo and with Paramore. It’s her innate ability to convey such tangible emotion in a manner that feels more confessional and human than it does performative, that connects her to listeners. She’s there to share her experiences and comfort you, and while you may be the one listening to the music, you also feel heard. She’s still doing this today by giving us FLOWERS, so let’s return the favour and give Hayley hers as well.

 

Graphic by @ariannasivira

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Music

Underrated Albums of 2020, Vol. 5: Dijon – How Do You Feel About Getting Married?

Dijon’s last project slipped through the cracks of 2020

Dijon Duenas is a musical savant, to the tune of over 80 million streams on Spotify. His sophomore project, How Do You Feel About Getting Married? released in May 2020 saw the artist taking a chance on trying out a new sound — one that went relatively unnoticed.

Coming off the release of Sci Fi 1 in 2019, Dijon’s sound was a fusion of genres — a delicate blend of folk guitar with R&B that was led with a wide range of vocals. How Do You Feel About Getting Married? brought back that same gentleness that Dijon explored on Sci Fi 1, doing so in a way that’s oriented more on ambient music — a sound that you can close your eyes to.

Opening up with the short song “do you light up?”, the 6-track EP spans just 15 minutes. With Dijon’s gentle vocals and harmonies backed by simple finger picking and light keys playing, this opener feels reminiscent of Frank Ocean’s earlier work, blended with a touch of electronica from The 1975.

Still, Dijon’s merit is not based on other artists he may sound like. How Do You Feel About Getting Married? sees him testing a more experimental sound compared to his earlier work.

The project’s second track “alley-oop” is essentially the title track of the project, with his woozy vocals singing, “Hey slim, how do you feel about getting married? / We don’t have to wait forever, and you don’t have to know the answer right now.” Delivered with the combination of soft guitar and a simple drum beat, Dijon’s finesse in producing the track himself allows the vocals to be the focal point of the song.

Even though the capacity to self produce has become increasingly common with indie artists, credit has to be given where it’s due — Dijon self-produced four of the tracks on How Do You Feel About Getting Married? 

As the EP continues, there is a continuation of the project’s narrative, a speaker asking his subject about marriage. On the fourth track, “dance song,” Dijon sets the mood with a languid and airy song that is built on light guitar strumming — again placing the sung poetry to be at the focus.

With tracks “hunni” and “jesse,” Dijon lulls the project to its end on a mellow note. If “hunni” is day, then “jesse” is night. Whereas “hunni” is the most upbeat track on the project, “jesse” is equally as calm of a song, one that musically brings to mind Frank Ocean’s “Seigfried.” With “jesse,” the last track of the project, the concept of marriage throughout the EP comes full circle with lyrics like, “He could break all his promises. But when I see Jesse I smile.”

How Do You Feel About Getting Married? definitely strays from the sounds of tracks like “Skin” and “Drunk” that made Dijon become acclaimed, but you can’t hate a man for trying out something new — it shows that he’s not just in it for the catchy singles, he’s an artist willing to push his own boundaries.

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Music

How the pandemic changed the way we listen to music

As the world changed around me, I had music to get me through it

Listening to music is a crucial part of my life. Before the pandemic, my headphones were on before I was out of the door. I would hit play on my music soon after. I would lip-sync throughout the entire length of my commute, and sometimes I would get odd looks, but I felt happy and that was all that mattered.

However, as much as music was there every day, I started to lose that deep connection with it. Music just became the typical part of my life, and it still impacted my moods, but I no longer felt inspired by music anymore. Songs like Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” and Kesha’s “Praying” were no longer special to me — I was just a product of the repeat and shuffle buttons.

March 2020 was the start of two incredible new chapters in my life. On March 12, I found out I was pregnant. On March 13, strict COVID-19 measures were put in place — and nothing has been the same since. So within two days, I got amazing news and some of the scariest news of my life to date.

For the first month after hearing about the pandemic, I didn’t bother listening to music at all. I took away a source of pleasure and entertainment because I didn’t think I deserved to have anything enjoyable. My life was consumed by the news. I would hear the introduction music for Global News Morning, and my days turned to dread really quickly. That sound meant non-stop COVID-19 news, and it would send me into a spiral of fear.

There was one day in late April where my husband and I decided to limit our news intake and take a break from the information. That’s when I decided to listen to music again; because if I was going to  feel a whirlwind of emotions, I would rather it be because of music.

My first idea was to search music from the early 2000s, because it was music that was so far removed from the pandemic. Songs like “Sorry, Blame It On Me” by Akon and “Beautiful Soul” by Jesse McCartney made me feel nostalgic. I was able to sing them from start to finish with no missed lyrics, and I felt accomplished. During a time where I was still suffering from morning sickness and not being able to leave my apartment, something as simple as singing a song made me feel amazing.

While the pandemic had me feeling down, I didn’t want to limit my intake of sad music. Sometimes I just needed a good cry and music was a safe way to do that. I listened to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” because it was sung in a death scene in an otherwise silly action movie that struck me. The reason I wanted to do this was because I wanted to be in control of my sadness, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Playing a music guessing game was something my husband and I decided to bring back to our games list, but this time around, we had had a lot more fun with it. We would each pick a pre-made playlist on Spotify and have the other person guess what song was playing. He and I are both competitive people, so games like these are fun for us. By reintroducing this game into our lives, we got to disconnect from all the ugliness the pandemic had caused. We started to play it more often because we had nothing else to do, but we also got to bond more. We decided to pick more obscure lists like wrestling entry music. Getting to experience the snippets of music, most of which ended up being unfamiliar, allowed me to feel happily frustrated when I didn’t know the answer.

Since I had a lot of time, I would sometimes put music channels on our TV, and through that, I got to experience everything from happiness to disbelief. I found a lot of new music through those channels, like Ashe. Some of the best songs I have heard from her are “Moral of the Story,” “Save Myself” and “Shitty Places, Pretty Faces.” Her music speaks to me on such a profound level.

I felt confused sometimes when I heard some new music that I found to be awful. Whether the discoveries made me feel positive or negative, I felt fortunate to be able to rebuild my relationship with music. 

Now that my son is here, and nearly a year since the lockdown started, music has become even more important to me. Music is now my source of energy and calm. I listen to a lot of baby songs now because I use that to bond with my son, though he seems to be more interested in the music I like instead, which makes me smile. Music has also become a teaching tool, and as someone who loves to teach, it enhances my overall relationship with music and with my son.

As cliché as it sounds, music has become my escape from the hardships of the pandemic. I have had the chance to redefine my relationship with music in a way that I didn’t think would happen. I realized that I was taking my love of music for granted, and now I no longer do that. 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Pooh Shiesty – Shiesty Season

Pooh Shiesty’s debut album packs a consistent punch but lacks a star-making track

Pooh Shiesty has a lot to live up to. The Memphis-bred artist’s debut, Shiesty Season, under trap legend Gucci Mane’s label 1017 and shows he’s ready to trade bars with some of the genre’s most reliable veterans.

From the beginning, Shiesty is firing on all cylinders. The explosive “Shiesty Season Intro” is the table-setter for the healthy 17 total tracks on the album. It’s punchy and without a hook, leaving Shiesty to showcase his rapping ability all in under two minutes. While not always rapping on the beat, the 21-year-old’s ability to tell his stories and scoff at death threats (“Tryna pay to get me killed, why you won’t come do it? (Come do) / Get sent out, watch how I send you back to ’em shows he can’t be fazed”).

Shiesty Season’s impalpable energy makes its 50-minute run time that much more palatable, but some tracks towards the middle of the album tend to bleed onto each other. “Choppa Way” and “Gone MIA” aren’t unlistenable, but they don’t necessarily scream out “essential tracks” on the project.

The collaborations are what make Shiesty Season as engaging as it is. “Big 13 Gang” featuring Choppa Wop and Lil Hank is an ardent semi-posse cut that sees all three rappers going back and forth backed by a simple instrumental whose purpose is to focus their commanding voices.

21 Savage, Gucci Mane, and Lil Durk are the biggest names on Shiesty Season and on each track, Pooh Shiesty proves he’s more than just a major-label signee with buying power. On “Box of Churches,” the Memphis artist raps over a flute-led beat about his success and gives out his own advice to those who might heed it. Yet, he never feels overpowered by his guests.

Shiesty Season lacks a winning track that can win over a crowd of people and the extended runtime does overstay its welcome, but Pooh Shiesty has a winning formula. His ability to craft consistent, albeit unspectacular bangers will continue to flesh out as he drops more under Gucci Mane’s 1017 label. After all, he does have one of the best trap hitmakers of all time to help him out. Pooh Shiesty will be alright.

 

Rating: 7/10

Trial Track: Box of Churches (feat. 21 Savage)

 

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Music

A gateway to classic rock: how Guitar Hero and Rock Band kept rock alive

I can still remember my first time playing a Guitar Hero game pretty well. I couldn’t have been more than 11 years old; I was at my childhood best friend’s house and after days of him talking about how fun it was, he finally booted up Guitar Hero II on his PlayStation 2. Little did I know that that one time playing would have had such a long-lasting impact on my life.

From the moment that I saw the stylized animated intro that featured the likes of in-game playable characters and rock stars Axel Steel and Judy Nails, I was completely immersed. As we scrolled through the menu, with a guitar strum indicating every confirmed selection we made, we got to the list of songs, and it’s a list that greatly impacted the music that we consumed through the years following.

A lot of people probably can’t confidently tell you where they first heard Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” or classics like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” or even Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing In The Name,” but I can — sitting on that couch, next to my best friend. We played and played, becoming acquainted with some phenomenal music as we tried our hardest to hit every note (well, as someone who hadn’t played yet and didn’t have the guitar peripheral, my “medium”-est).

Guitar Hero II and its successors, as well as the Rock Band series, may not have introduced me to classic rock, but they were definitely the catalyst in pushing my interest in the genre further. I think this is a pretty common feeling among people who are in my age group.

Obviously, a lot of the songs included in these games were staples in CHOM’s rotation, and as a kid in Montreal, that was a station I was familiar with through the adults in my life. But what made me really take interest in these songs, was the repeated listens that came with repeated attempts at perfecting them in these games. 

What started as a single gaming session with a friend soon turned into me being an avid player of the games that followed, which kept me diving into decades of some of the greatest music ever produced. As a kid who grew up primarily being a fan of hip hop as well as listening to a lot of the popular alternative, punk and emo acts of the time, these games were game-changers. I don’t know if I ever would’ve taken the plunge into the hundreds of albums I’ve listened to since that first time playing.

These two series are what piqued my interest in several of my favourite artists of all-time. From Black Sabbath to Nirvana to David Bowie, and many more, all of these artists have had a tremendous impact on me and the way I view and consume music. I mean, they’ve even impacted the way I dress, considering that I wear shirts that display some of these bands literally all the time.

This was the real beauty that these games held. Sure, they were polished and fun games, but beyond that, they opened the eyes of many kids/teens like myself to the fantastic music that came before us. They were a way of bridging a generational gap that existed within music, and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

It’s not unusual for a video game to leave an impact on someone who plays it, but the lasting impact that the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games have had in my life, and many others’, shouldn’t be overlooked. The games may have come and gone pretty quickly, peaking and tinkering off within a few years, but their impact outside of gaming can’t be understated, and can still be felt today.

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

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Music

Underrated Albums of 2020, Vol. 4: The Strokes – The New Abnormal

The Strokes’ most recent album pulled out all the stops after Julian Casablancas’ divorce.

Never would one imagine that an album by The Strokes could ever be considered underrated after nearly two decades of being heralded as greats – yet here we are.

Coming off of an album hiatus that spanned just over seven years, band frontman Julian Casablancas and The Strokes came back with one of the best albums of 2020. Backed by production and music industry legend Rick Rubin, The New Abnormal sees The Strokes returning to peak form that any casual listener can appreciate.

Objectively speaking, it would be hard for a fan of The Strokes to put anything else over their 2001 opus, Is This It, or their 2011 masterpiece, Angles. However, The New Abnormal makes a compelling case with its dive into bouncy guitar riffs and demanding bass lines. 

Something about the way guitar is used throughout The New Abnormal speaks to the genre-blending of the album. Whether it’s the back-and-forth duel on “The Adults Are Talking,” or the guitar synthesizer used for “Why Are Sundays So Depressing,” it’s safe to say that band guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. had fun with the album. The lines between indie rock and new-wave pop come to be blurred on this album, but the nod to their earlier work is there, with a more mature and well-produced sound.

Fresh off his divorce at the time, a lot of Casablancas’ lyrics read as though they speak directly on the subject. It doesn’t go without saying that The New Abnormal featured big name co-writers like Billy Idol, Richard Butler and Tony James on tracks like “Bad Decisions,” and “Eternal Summer.” In any case, some of the more head scratching lyrics make more sense in the context of a breakup. “Selfless,” the album’s second track, shows this with lyrics like, “Bite my tongue, I wait my turn / I waited for a century / Waste my breath, no lessons learned.” In the same breath, “Why Are Sundays So Depressing,” offers that same curiosity, “Don’t ask me questions / That you don’t want the answers to.”

Another facet of this album that is often overlooked is the wide range of vocal performances. In a music career spanning over twenty years, it would be assumed that listeners have heard everything that Casablancas has to offer. And still, he has more in his bag of tricks. The New Abnormal’s strongest vocal performance comes to the tune of “At The Door,” which is just over five minutes of Casablancas pushing himself to hold notes while articulating every syllable; a performance reminiscent of 2011’s “Metabolism.” Though The New Abnormal is only nine songs long, there is enough content over these tracks to make it one of The Strokes’ better albums.

Even though The New Abnormal earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album, it still feels like the album has yet to fully receive the praise it is due, especially after seven relatively quiet years from the band. Besides, a Grammy nomination isn’t worth much these days. 

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Madlib – Sound Ancestors

Madlib’s latest project is a hazy sonic adventure that borrows from different times and cultures and morphs it into something that is unmistakably Madlib.

Madlib’s versatility knows no bounds. The legendary producer’s ability to craft an entire album’s worth of instrumentals for rappers is just as apparent on his own solo material. Kieran Hebden of Four Tet appears all over Madlib’s latest album Soul Ancestors, a project that sees Madlib experimenting with evocative and brooding sounds.

No two songs on Sound Ancestors sound alike, with Madlib and Hebden using many different instruments, particularly strings, to bring together a compilation of tracks that pay respects to various influences while also morphing them into something so peculiar, it unmistakably has Madlib’s fingerprints all over them. 

“Road Of The Lonely Ones” is where the album begins to find its stride. The eloquent guitar and bass leading the track complement the soulful background vocals that sound like exactly what the title implies. It’s hollow but striking in a way that the few lyrics in the track sound like a cry for help as the singer wallows in his misery.

The following track “Loose Goose” opens with a sci-fi electronic instrumental before introducing a classic Snoop Dogg sample where he only says “Fo shizzle, dizzle.” The track bounces back and forth from a fiery saxophone loop and distorted vocals from an unknown man. The mystique in the track adds to Madlib’s secrecy that has surrounded his career for years.

Sound Ancestors isn’t Madlib’s first foray into producing cryptic music, although his latest project is a glitched time capsule that borrows from the past and incorporates whatever he took in a dystopian-like album. It sounds fresh in the same way that it sounds old, with Madlib combining the two aspects to create new soundscapes altogether.

Madlib flies through time on tracks like “Two for 2 – For Dilla,” an homage to the late icon J Dilla. The beat is reminiscent of the Detroit producer’s works, but it’s unmistakably a Madlib beat. Coming off the heels of the death of longtime collaborator and underground legend MF DOOM, Sound Ancestors also sounds like it could’ve been a prototype for another collaborative project. Though none of the beats are asking to be rapped on, songs like “Latino Negro” and “Hopprock” could have easily added some vocals on them to add another element.

Yet Madlib is not interested in working with anyone else besides Hebden across the project’s 16 tracks. Madlib’s insistence on mixing the new with the old on Sound Ancestors led to him making a refreshing and engaging beat tape in an era where they don’t come all that often. It’s an album that doesn’t necessarily require an attentive ear, but the closer you listen, the more intricacies you’ll find.

 

Rating: 8/10

Trial Track: “Loose Goose”

Categories
Music

OFFISLAND is turning his career on

Meet the 19-year-old producer turned singer with his upcoming debut project, zero.five

Sometimes you need to turn the focus on your own craft and see it through. Coming off his debut project, zero.five, 19-year-old Alex Mavroudis flipped the switch from producer to artist under the moniker OFFISLAND.

What started for Mavroudis at age 12 with Minecraft dubstep remixes on free softwares eventually grew into a curiosity for music making. When it came time for post-secondary, he attended Recording Arts Canada in Montreal to take up audio engineering and music production.

“I picked up mixing and producing because I wanted to make my own stuff,” said Mavroudis.

He asserts that his education in mixing gives him an edge as a recording artist, saying, “If you learn an instrument or a sound you don’t have to rely on a producer.”

With formal education finished, Mavroudis got to work in the Montreal scene, getting in the studio with artists like 3MFrench, nayil, and YNG Travs.

“I admire the people I’ve worked with a lot, these guys are all great and on their way up,” he said.

Having worked primarily in the Montreal trap scene, Mavroudis opted for a different direction on his debut project, zero.five, slated for independent release in February. With a trio of tracks varying from indie rock to psychedelic synth-pop, the variety is there, though it’s not something to hold against him.

“It’s not the first fully defining sound I am going to release,” he explained. “I would describe it as fluid and spacey.”

Through his three-song tracklist of “Burn Down The Bar,” “Cynical,” and “No Make Up,” Mavroudis wrote, recorded and mixed everything except the bass on “Cynical,” done with help of bassist Ilia Galanakis. There is room for comparison between the Mac DeMarco-esque “No Make Up.” He admitted he “Took heavy inspiration from ‘Chamber of Reflection.’ He’s a one man show but he’s insane at bringing a track to life — someone I look up to as a singer, artist, and producer.”

Even with a short tracklist of three songs, Mavroudis’ inspirations are still at the forefront of his creation. For “Burn Down The Bar,” he wrote the song based on a photo of his parents’ old car, the same photo used in the album artwork.

“I wanted to take the feeling I got from that photo and put it in the song,” he said. While the song is close to home, it’s a double-edged sword for the musician, adding, “I saw two young people partying having the time of their lives and I wanted to capture that, but it’s sad also because time catches up to you.”

When it comes to the future, Mavroudis’ plans are ineffable. 

“It’s hard to explain what your vision is sometimes, with words,” he said. Without a set plan in mind, the artist is taking things as they come while navigating new sounds, saying, “I don’t think that far ahead, especially when it comes to making music. The next thing could be completely different.”

Categories
Music

Rethinking the importance of album reviews

Album reviews don’t exactly serve the same purpose anymore and that’s okay.

The art of reviewing an album is criminally underrated. For every half-decent score given out to musical projects by outlets like Pitchfork and The Needle Drop, there’s a fountain of thoughts behind the arbitrary number meant to show why it was chosen. A 6.8 might look ugly as a number, but the review itself could very well be flattering and critical where it has to be. Let’s not forget a 6.8 is only mere decimals away from a seven, which most of us would consider to be a good grade.

Before the internet existed, the only way to get someone’s thoughts on an upcoming album was to read a magazine or newspaper’s review since they had received an advance copy of the project. The reviewer’s words mattered more as it gave the reader a unique view with which to approach the music. The score aimed to put this smorgasbord of thoughts on a scale that we could all perceive in our heads.

As we moved towards an era where consuming new music is instantaneous, we don’t need to hear the reviewer’s thoughts before jumping into an album because there’s no cost of entry once you have a subscription to a streaming service. If the newest Guns N’ Roses album came out in the 1990s (I’m looking at you The Spaghetti Incident?), it cost between $15 to $40 to purchase the album’s CD or vinyl and listen to it. There was also a chance that the album might very well suck (it did). Who wants to spend money on an album they might never want to listen to again?

Today, that risk is gone. At midnight on a Friday, hundreds of new albums come out and all it costs to listen to these projects is time. Moreover, as reviewers tend to receive fewer advance copies of albums, the reviews only get published the Monday or Tuesday following its release as to make sure the piece is timely. Yet, as Pitchfork and The Needle Drop continue to give out scores we don’t agree with, the internet seems to completely disregard the actual opinion in favour of the arbitrary score.

When Pitchfork reviewed Taylor Swift’s folklore, they had given the album an eight out of ten, but the review itself was glowing. The lack of inclusion in its famous Best New Music section and what some fans deemed a low score led to the doxxing of the writer, Jillian Mapes. The review was thoughtful and even critical at times, but that’s what constitutes a review – the good and the bad.

Aside from Pitchfork, the only other prominent reviewer is Anthony Fantano, the man behind the immensely popular YouTube channel, The Needle Drop. Fantano’s reviews are fairly straightforward and sometimes absurd as he leans into his love for memes which makes his videos all the more engaging. But his reviews follow a formula that bleeds onto every genre of music he reviews. He mostly engages in a track by track breakdown and reviews the music solely based on what it is and how it sounds like, largely ignoring context leading up to its release.

Fantano is also known for his mostly harsh scores, giving artists like Drake and Future horrible reviews while giving industrial hip hop acts like Death Grips continuously glowing reviews. He’s allowed to score things how he wants, but the problem here is that he’s been deified by his viewers. Every score he gives effectively lives rent free in the minds of whoever watches his content which leads to his followers becoming mini-Fantanos. The 35-year-old YouTuber has long criticized his fans for doing this, though it keeps happening.

Album reviews and general thoughts on a project tend to change as we see someone in a higher position of power share their thoughts, often a week or so after the album has dropped. Many YouTube comments and Twitter replies urge Fantano to review an album so that they can know whether they should defend it or crucify it online.

Over the years, I’ve come to watch Fantano less. Not because he’s necessarily bad at what he does, but because I too found myself becoming influenced by his arbitrary scores and methodical approach to reviewing. I found myself becoming less enthused with albums I previously loved because he came in with harsh criticisms that I couldn’t defend. But that’s where music becomes an infinitely personal experience.

We can love albums for their imperfections. Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III was imperfect to a point where it’s a hell of a ride every time I listen to it, flaws and all. Drake’s Views and More Life are deeply flawed albums but I still enjoy them regardless — people forget the skip button exists and you quite literally ignore the bad tracks much more easily than getting up and moving the needle of a record player onto the next track.

Music reviewing shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an opportunity as writers, thinkers or vloggers, to put out our thoughts on a body of work that will most likely be flawed. The scores we attribute them are not always a decisive reflection of our thoughts. Most scores will likely change after a few months of listening to an album because there’s always something new to think about.

Reviews are a deeply personal experience that will vary from person to person. The different opinions are what make reviews so intriguing to read. If everyone had the same thoughts on an album, we’d have the Kanye effect where you’d get roasted and berated for thinking My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is anything less than perfect, which would be asinine. Reviews are a gateway into a person’s thoughts and should be viewed as such instead of just looking at the score and thinking every seven out of ten is the same thing.

 

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