Thursday, November 21, 2013

QUICK SPINS



Jake BuggShagri La
The 19-year-old English singer / songwriter phenom has struck again, only a year after releasing his acclaimed debut, Bugg shows he is here to stay. Shagri La hears Bugg’s signature throwback rockabilly riffs but this time produced by the lendary Rick Rubin to clear up the sound and scale of the music. Bugg may be doing something so basic, but he is doing it just right.
FINAL GRADE: A


Blu & NottzGods in the Spirit EP
New material from West Coast rapper Blu is hard to come by, when it comes it usually flies under the radar when in fact, it should be up there with the ranks of new school kings like Kendrick, Earl Sweatshirt, and A$AP. However, teaming up with Nottz might just give Blu the push he has needed for so long to be one of hip-hop’s most talked about emcees.
FINAL GRADE: A


Four Tet Beautiful Rewind
If anyone ever wanted to know what Four Tet sounded like, Rewind is the answer. It takes listeners on a musical voyage to territories that only this British producer, DJ, and beatmaker can provide.
FINAL GRADE: A-


AFI Burials
While most of the bands that emerged from the same emo scene as AFI are touring behind the one or two records that got them famous a decade or so ago, AFI are still releasing worthwhile material that shows they are going nowhere. Burials is the long awaited new release from the California band and it is as hard and as thrashing as they have ever been. They return to form in fine fashion.
FINAL GRADE: B+


Sky Ferreira Night Time, My Time
The long awaited debut from the California synthpop indie buzz girl has finally arrived and it arrives in fine form. Ferreira takes a seductive and dark look at pop music and blends catchy hooks and melodies that will haunt and pleasure the spirit. With some of the songs written with former As Tall As Lions singer Daniel Nigro, it is no wonder we enjoy the sound so much.
FINAL GRADE: B+


The Avett BrothersMagpie and the Dandelions
The Carolina fraternity returns with a bombastic new record that hears them taking their signature folk / Americana / rock sound to a stadium ready level. Magpie shows why these guys are loved by so many including Chris Cornell, Bob Dylan, Mumford & Sons, and many more.
FINAL GRADE: B+


A Wilhelm ScreamPartycrasher
The Massachusets hardcore titans return with their first album in six years and boy, are we glad they are back. Partychrasher plays like a bone crunching, foot stomping, face melting, good time…or as their fans would say, “It sounds like A Whilhelm Scream record.”
FINAL GRADE: B+


Blood Orange Cupid Deluxe
Much like Sky Ferreira, Blood Orange has an ability to make pop a seductive and haunting sound but still make you want to get up and move like there is some sort of party going on. On his long awaited second album, Cupid Delux, Blood Orange brings along a slew of guests like Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, Samantha Urbani of Friends, Clams Casino, Despot, Adam Bainbridge of Kindness, and Skepta, to join his party.
FINAL GRADE: B


Lucious JacksonMagic Hour
The divine indie darlings of the 90’s return with their first album since they reunited earlier this year and their first album since 1999’s Electric Honey. Now, older, wiser, and much more skeptic of the music industry, it is as if these fine ladies never left us.
FINAL GRADE: B


Dr. DogB-Room
One of music’s most adored traveling bands return with their third album and bring forth a much more psychedelic tone than ever before. B-Room still has the band harmonizing as if they were The Beatles, but bringing more of the later work of the Fab Four into the studio as a clear inspiration.
FINAL GRADE: B-


Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium
The seventh album from the Austin indie favorites hears them throwing back to the indie folk sound that got them their acclaim so many years ago. The Silver Gymnasium also hears singer Will Sheff go back to his masterful storytelling but crafting a concept record about growing up in a small town in New Hampshire.
FINAL GRADE: B-


ErasureSnow Globe
An 80’s new wave take on Christmas songs and brand new soon-to-be holiday classics! Yes, Please!
FINAL GRADE: B-


Blitzen TrapperVII
The seventh studio album from the Portland indie favorites hears them sticking to the same formula that has driven them for years.
FINAL GRADE: B-


EminemThe Marshall Mathers LP 2
Making a record after his fantastic 2010 Grammy Award winning Recovery record was going to be a hard task, but maybe that is why Eminem decided to go back to the album that made his a serious international star – The Marshall Mathers LP. Eminem has ditched his natural black locks to go back to his blonde alter-ego Slim Shady and spits and shits on everything in pop and in the media. Trying to be cutting edge by linking up with Rick Rubin to sample Beastie Boys cuts and give some of his songs a late 80’s / early 90’s feel to them doesn’t seem to flow. At points the album seems disjointed and Em is trying to fit as many words together as he possible can without letting a song breathe or just be.
FINAL GRADE: C+


The MelvinsTres Cabrones
The Melvins return with their second album this year and link up with original drummer Mike Dillard for a comical but often times redundant sounding LP.
FINAL GRADE: C+


Lady GagaArtpop
We know Lady Gaga has talent, she displayed that on her massive debut. We know Lady Gaga can be creative, she displays that every time she steps out the door. So, if she has all of these abilities to make her a great artist, why must she try so hard to not only sound like everyone else, but sound so generic that you think she has lost her touch. Artpop, much like it’s predecessor, Born This Way, is an uninspiring, overproduced, album that tries too hard to sound like the bastard child of Madonna and Cher. Our advice for her is to go back-to-basics and go back to being yourself, trying to outdo your last persona.
FINAL GRADE: D


MIAMantagi
After a three year wait, MIA returns with an album, that much like Gaga’s, is an overproduced effort that hears another woman trying to hard to gain attention. What MIA was doing early in her career when she was dating Diplo was fresh and original, especially to this part of the world, now, it is just something she is trying to do to stay relevant by throwing as much shit on the wall and seeing what sticks.
FINAL GRADE: D