Tag Archives: TOTW

TOTW: Kendrick Lamar_FEAR.

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Since I started listening to Kendrick Lamar a few years ago he has managed to become one of my favorite rappers of all time and certainly my favorite current hip-hop artist. His last full length to pimp a butterfly made my album of the year very easy to decide and its follow up EP Untitled Unmastered was also one of the best things to be released last year. So the announcement of his new full length DAMN. was greeted by me with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Could he continue this incredible run of form or was it too much to ask?

This week DAMN. was released and so it’s time to start thinking about those answers. However it’s still far to soon to comment of how highly I regard this album. To Pimp a Butterfly only cemented itself as a classic from repeat paying. Only as the tens of plays went to hundreds and the layers of truth and artistic expression were revealed throughout every element of that work did I realise its true merit. A week after the release of DAMN. And I’m still only on the surface but I can say that the surface is looking pretty good.

Modern stronger trap influenced textures make up the key elements in the first half of the album which starts to shift towards samples and acoustic instrumentation on its second half. Kendrick is still on form with his cutting deliveries that often sound like outpourings of pure rage the first time through before you start to notice the subtlety and poignancy in the lyrics. They turn from all out brawls to silent assassins. Laser targeting people, elements of American culture and corporations with overwhelming positivity or vitriol. It will take more time to divulge whats going on in the album but for now all I can say is I’ve listened to it six times and am still finding new things to enjoy and analyse so its looking good so far.

I picked FEAR as my Track of the week because it stood out, forcing me to sit up and analyse it on my first listen. Which I usually try to keep as passive as possible, paying attention to the aesthetics of the album as a whole rather than the individual elements.

FEAR handles Kendricks insecurity in his current position and looking back to the fears that he had during the To Pimp A Butterfly days with a honesty and vulnerability that is often hidden under the bravado of Rap. At nearly 8 minutes its also the longest work on DAMN. But continues the structure of his earlier works by splitting the track up into smaller arrangements, motifs and skits that all blend together to put across the ideas of the overall track. This style of arrangement results in tracks that become very cerebral and almost dreamlike as the characters and feelings thought the track fade in and out the overarching narrative becomes the poignant element to hang your thoughts on.

If you still Haven’t listened to Kendrick Lamar I hope this will persuade you to go further into his work and his back catalog. Missing out on it is missing out on one of the most interesting popular artists working today and someone who actually has something to say about current events, It’s all well worth your time.

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TOTW: Telefon Tel Aviv_ You Are The Worst Thing In The World

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Telefon Tel Aviv were one of the first artists I ever featured on my Track Of The Week segment of this blog. Promoting music I love that is often on the fringes of most listeners is the reason this segment exists and they’re certainly fit into that category. Looking back I noticed that I never included a track from their album Immolate Yourself. The last album made before Charles Coopers accidental death in 2009 and it is time I rectified the situation.

The album took the group away from their computer heavy compositional style to analogue synths and a tape machines for recording and its shows in the work. As the glitch style percussion gives way to more organic textures their experimentation still remained.

On You are The Worst Thing In the World percussive tape loops and a hi-hat pattern drift in and out of sync with each other to give elements of randomness that are then cemented by the rigid arpeggiated analogue synth line and more driving elements of percussion. Its this blend of the more experimental elements from the history of electronic production mixed with strong melodies that keep me coming back to their work and this album time and time again:

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TOTW: Shobaleader One_ Iambic 5 Poetry

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Shobaleder One is a band founded by Tom Jenkinson. Better known as his pseudonym Spuarepusher, an act that has always mixed his expansive knowledge in composition with his incredible abilities as a bass player. He brings both of these to this project ,which plays a collection of his own work in a live environment with a collective of other highly talented musicians.

At times Instrumentation that was never designed to be played from anything other than a machine is achieved by the group as they turn samples and arpeggiators into virtuoso noodlings. Although physically impressive it’s the more melodic and simple tracks that have been my highlights.

Iambic 5 Poetry offers a restrained collection of instrumentation in comparison to some of the other tracks but also provide catchy hooks which drew my attention on first listen. It manages to highlight that a lot of the more complicated forms of electronic are closer to Progressive Rock and Jazz then most modern Electronic Dance Music and is well worth a listen to fans of either genre.

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TOTW: Our Gray Lives_ S___A_A_H_G___S__B___-V_4

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For fans of the more experimental music I put up on this site especially the work of acts like Tim Hecker and William Basinski the album Cacophonies by Our Gray Lives may be right up your street.

Each track on the album features another album by a completely different artist with every track from that album playing at the same time. The artist Our Gray lives then mixes these tracks together and washes them in effects to create new tracks of his own.

Depending on the material used these tracks vary differently in tempo style and sound design and for me they work the best when they are larger more pad like soundscape found on tracks such as the opening S__A_A_H_G___S__B___-V_4. Although I’m still not aware of the album he has used as the sauce material it certainly has elements of African instrumentation and singing which become more prominent towards the end as other tracks drop away removing the wide sonic textures to reveal guitars and vocals.

If you want to hear music that falls on the fringes of the norm. This is a great addition to a thriving experimental scene and has a lot to take from and enjoy.

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TOTW: Julie Byrne_Natural Blue

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Julie Byrne hasn’t gone far from the roots of the traditional singer/songwriter on her album Not Even Happiness. Vocals and Guitar are the key players only occasionally being swapped out for other instrumentation. However she does this with such a clear and shimmering beauty that I have found it captivating. The track Natural Blue exemplifies the quality of the album, give it a listen below:

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TOTW: Talaboman_ Looser’s Hymn

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John Talabot created one of my favorite electronic albums Fin in 2012. Still to this day it Is one of the high points of the genre and has kept me interested in his output ever since. Over the resent years he has formed a partnership with Axel Boman under the name Talaboman and after a few singles have created their first LP the night land which manages to recapture a lot of the things I loved from the album Fin.

The blend of electronic dance instrumentation with atmospheric field recordings is used to create a distinctive sound that elevates it above the expansive output from the genre. Compositionally tracks manage to do a lot with a little. In Looser’s Hymn minimal instrumentation is used yet the design and use of effects gives these elements a strong sense of place. Time will tell if it holds its own in the same way that Fin does years later, but its looking to have all the ingredients needed to become another classic.

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TOTW: Priests_Interlude (-)

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The Priests album Nothing Feels Natural is a post-punk debut reminiscent of many of the genre’s greatest achievements. A superb album in its own right but nuzzled between the more traditional tracks is my track of the week “Interlude”.

Interlude does what its name suggests a short and unique song that sounds completely separate from the rest of the tracks. Providing a pallet cleanser but also showing ideas that we don’t usually hear on most post-punk albums.

A string section provides a neo-classical sound we would expect from artists such as Nils Frahm or Max Richter. It uses both low and high fidelity recording to create a wash of instrumentation that hints at many things with a subtlety that feels fresh in the context of this album.

Artists often add small ideas into works that change up or test areas and interests to demonstrate their versatility and Interlude by Priests is a great example.

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TOTW: SOHN_Harbour

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On album Rennen, SOHN blends R&B with electronica and does it with an edge and beauty that works well throughout.

Rannen concludes with Harbour a song that starts very much in one genre before breaking into the other. A vocal solo starts the track before being accompanied by and organ which grows into a whole collection of synths which are stripped away to nothing. It then starts up again as an all out dance track with an arpeggiated synth bass line backed up by the organ, driving percussion and even a wood block thrown in for good measure. It’s a track that finishes the album on a high, a great sendoff that leaves you wanting more:

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TOTW: Leonard Cohen_The Partisan

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Leonard Cohen died at the end of last year leaving with us with his final album “you want it darker” a personal reflection on life and death that along, David Bowies Blackstar could be seen as bookends to 2016.

Maybe known best for other peoples covers of his song Hallelujah the one thing that has always been clear is his skills as a wordsmith. Cohens ability to poetically weave complicated struggles with life into powerful songs has always been his strong point. However I personally feel that as his music progressed it was the production that let his words down. Sounds that at the time were of the moment, now sound dated and detract from the vocals rather than enhance them. It’s when we strip away the instrumentation to its simpler forms that the work really does shine through and this is why his earlier albums still stand out as some of the best. Especially on the album Songs from a room where the small band accompaniment provide enhancement rather than destruction from his words.

Yet after saying his best points are his abilities as a poet, I’m going to pick a cover as my track of the week. In this instance Leonard Cohen recites the folk song La Complainte du Partisan firstly in English and then in French. The song focuses on the thoughts of a french resistance fighter during world war II and Leonard Cohen delivers them with a mix of reserved melancholy and hope. He inhabits the role of someone struggling with a dangerous and near impossible task with a steely eyed determination and belief that as long as him and people like him continue they will succeed no matter the costs.

This delivery is also enhanced by the instrumentation. The accordion reflects the songs french roots without loosing its subtlety and becoming a pastiche. Instead it resembles the hope and nationalism the resistance fighter feels which drives him on his quest. The Acoustic guitar and bass give a feel of historical accuracy whilst also providing a the structure for the track.

The decision of mixing slow fades into and out of the track also give the feeling that your being introduced to a story that started before and will continue on after the end of the track as the character continues his quest. Its as compelling now as when it was written because it contains and delivers an authenticity that’s hard to capture on record:

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TOTW: Neil Cicierega_T.I.M.E

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Comedy in music doesn’t have the credibility that it receives in other mediums like film. Which is a shame as there’s a real skill to creating something funny in a medium where repeat listening is a key element of the form.

Neil Cicierega has managed to achieve this on his new album Mouth Moods. Which joyously remixes and mashes up tracks that should have no place together to great comic effect. His key influence for sampling is not a dusty collection of vinyl but the meme centric world of anonymous internet forums. Songs and soundbites from all levels of taste and credibility are treated with the same reverence. With an overarching goal to surprise and entertain the listener. He does this with a style and a skill that could only come from talent and experience.

It results in a work that leaves me grinning from ear to ear throughout its playtime, as Neil throws track after track of songs that shouldn’t work together and create something that does. This overloading barrage on the senses often results in giddiness and raucous laughter from the listener. Not just myself but the many people I have played it to. The detail and care that has gone into squeezing every last joke possible out of its playtime leads to multiple layers of comedy that continue to deliver on repeat listens. The reference to the Beatles song Revolution #9 is a personal highlight for me but I don’t want to spoil it for you.

It’s also willing to go into the realms of the surreal and silly with songs like Tiger which goes for a simple and quite stupid joke that can’t help but raise a laugh. Survivors song Eye of the Tiger is chopped up and turned into a song about a man taking his tiger for a walk And the song Bustin will never make you think about the ghost busters theme tune in the same way again. It’s these things that highlight the silliness of the source material but with an enthusiasm and love that’s never condescending but a celebration of music and how it affects people.

It’s this toying with expectations of our proustian memories of music that have always made sampling so interesting if this had been done to dramatic rather than comedic effect Mouth Moods would be considered in the same light as seminal albums of the genre. At some moments it surpasses them by being funny and also poignant. This especially happens on my TOTW T.I.M.E where the YMCA is mixed with Hans Zimmers TIME from the inception soundtrack.

At first it comes across as a great joke. The powerful string melodies rich in a serious grandeur are almost ridiculed by the brash vocals smothered in reverb. But as the music builds with the words, you accept the world the song has put you in. By half way through the symbiosis of the two tracks results in a strong emotional power that shows the lyrics of the YMCA to be about struggle in adversity a sentiment that is easily lost to on the disco beat of the original. By the end you are left with a weird collection of emotions as you struggle to come to terms with the fact that the track is ridiculous and yet could be interpreted as deadly serious or even political. T.I.M.E along with the rest of mouth moods manages to play with music to such an extent it forces me to analyse all genre of music further than I have before. It challenges our perceptions of what music is and why it makes us feel the way we do and like all of my favourite albums it gives back as much as you put into it.

T.I.M.E may be a strong track in its own right but Mouth Moods could be making it into my end of year list. I recommend anyone download it from Neil Cicieregas site.

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