Esh Music

Foxygen made one of my favorite albums last year with their breakout (sort of) debut LP, now after a year and a half out of the spotlight, they are readying their immense follow up album titled "...And Star Power" which boasts a daunting 24 tracks. 

While we have to wait til October to enjoy the entire thing, the first single was released and it serves as an excellent appetizer for the full length. 

It's clear that a big part of Foxygen's appeal is that they recall popular music of the 60s and 70s but they've always favored lushly arranged and recorded pop hits of the era as opposed to reverb drenched psych music that so many bands like to imitate. This new song is no different with pianos and numerous, distortion-guitars being key sounds as well as accoustic guitar and bongos. Also, the song is just really catchy with an ear-worm hook.

Pregnant Women is a project from Sacramento that recently put out it's newest release of remixes. 

The album consists entirely of what once we're happy or some how celebratory pop and rap songs that have been twisted into dark and moody arrangements. For many of these tracks, it seems that Pregnant Women put more thought into the arrangements than the original producers did, creating something not only more interesting, but in many cases more catchy versions. 

All the remixes are given morose titles like Miley Cyrus' We Can't Stop (Begging For Forgiveness Remix) or Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe (I Am So Sorry For Your Loss Remix). 

It's not only unique and great, but it's also free and definitely worth your time. May not be the right tunes to out on at the height of your summer time barbeque, but once the guests are off the dance floor and gathering around the fire pit, this is something that will be right at home. 

Download the album here: http://wetheads.bandcamp.com/album/the-bagel-town-diaries

Zelooperz is a young rapper from Detroit who made became a member of Danny Brown's Bruiser Brigade clique after syncing up with Brown on Twitter. He released an album called Coon N The Room back in 2011 and more recently, fresh off tour opening for Danny, he's released his next mixtape entitled "Help"

Without exageration, "Help" is one of the most engaging, fresh, and fun rap releases of the year thus far. Zelooperz meshes the styles of Young Thug and Danny Brown with a little Migos thrown in for good measure. The production falls in the similar category as clanky and weird like Pusha T's "Numbers on the Board" from last year. Most importantly it provides a great backdrop for Zelooperz energetic and frantic rapping style. 

Notable tracks include the opener "Heir to the Throne", the lead single "Plateau", and the Danny Brown collaboration "Thunda Cats." All these tracks are fun as well as intensely creative. Another hallmark of Zelooperz is his top tier ad-libbing. His ad-libs and hooks are infectious and really help give the album personality and a sense of humor beyond just high technical quality. 

Since we last met True Neutral Crew, they've added a new member to the line up, expanding their Deathbomb Arc all-star line up with Signor Bendick The Moor and released another album. 

Aside from the new member, the first thing that you're sure to notice is that it lives up to the title. While it's not pop punk as we in know it today in any stretch of the imagination, it takes steps towards resembling both pop and punk more so than the more experimental #MONSANTO did, more like if the term pop punk had been applied to early new wave bands like Devo. It's longer, but there aren't any nine minute opuses and the songs generally have traditional structure. 

All that being said, True Neutral Crew is still supremely experimental with it's bending of what is rap music comparable to cLOUDDEAD (the group they have the most in common with). The opener "Modern Art" features equal parts straight rapping and poppy hooks and is the track that is most indicative of this album's through line. There are live drums and a jaunty bassline on the hook but there's also the sound of buzzsaws and distortion and the production gets pretty hectic during the verses. The following couple tracks have a similar blend of pop and punk-rap, although "New Shit" features little or no live instruments and instead as a bouncing electronic bassline with drum and bass percussion. Than things get very strange very fast with "More A Kid" which is low droning and noise while Daveed Diggs repeats "Does it make you more a kid if you want to off a pig" at around the two minute mark more voices enter singing before noise over takes the whole production with Signor Benedick closing out the track with a dark rapped verse. "Pop Punk" is back in line with the earlier tracks but the beat is in incredibly muffled, like you're plugging your ears at an ear-damaging noise show. Then things close out with a post-rock love song sung in Spanish, so just what you'd expect right?

Suffice it to say that this is quite the grab bag but when all the prizes in the bag are winners, you can't lose. The addition of Signor Benedick was a great move as he adds another highly capable rapping voice to the stew, bringing a Danny Brown-esque flair to the group. The varied production, aided by a cast of assiting guest producers, goes a long way to making all the songs unique. If you liked the last tape, then you're gaurunteed to like this one as well, but if you had a hard time getting into it, then maybe this slightly more accesible release will prove more appealing to you. 

Even though it may just be released as a commercial to sell Adidas, any Kanye output is cause for celebration especially when it is this intense and great. 

There's really not much Kanye on the track as it is mostly dominated by a pounding blown-out assault of African rhythms and sub-bass rumbling with Kanye acting more as a hype man because he only has about six or so lines. 

Metal music, in all of its various permutations, is generally unappealing to me. It's between the catchy songwriting and tonal elements of most rock music and the unceasing sonics of noise music to create something that is not enough of either. However, from time to time, a band comes along that's so powerful and destructing that I can't help but be sucked in. The technical term for this is "grindcore" but I think that (like most metal genre names) is stupid so I prefer destruction music. 

The newest band to fill this niche in my brain is Japanese group Gridlink and their newest album Longhena. At 23 minutes in length, this is their monolithic masterwork, running for about the length of their two previous albums put together and they fill that time with unstoppable shredding.

The best feature of the album is the high quality of the recording. The album is superbly mixed which really lets every instrument speak for it's self. The intricate guitar compositions really benefit the most from this crisp, clear sound. 

There's really not the much left for me to say. This album kicked my ass and it's the best metal I've heard since NAILS' last album. The album even comes with the humorously titled "karaoke" versions which are every song on the album but instrumental so even if you can't get down with the vocals, there still may be something here for you. 

Purchase here: https://handshakeinc.bandcamp.com/album/longhena

Being released just as the weather starts heating up, Curses! new EP is being put out with poor timing. Stylistically, this would be far more suited for the blue chill of winter, but that hardly stops it from being one of my favorite electronic releases of the year thus far. 

This EP (which is marketed as a single depsite having three distinct songs and clocking in at around a half hour) is my introduction to Curses! so if I'm missing out on his deep mythology, I apologize. 

I feel silly talking about electronic music with dance leanings because composition is usually not the main focus and I am left to talk primarily about tone selection. Fortunately for me, Curses! not only knocks it out of the park with the tones, but the composition as well. The songs are made up of equal parts of standard house music thump, footwork's clicky clacks, 80s style synth chords, and Burial's cold synths and vocal samples. 

The Burial comparison is particularly apt since Curses! is essentially taking Burial's formula and turning them into house dance tracks as opposed to cry-in-the-rain-outside-the-house tracks, which is a course of action that Burial himself is taking with the downright uplifting Rival Dealer EP. 

Despite these songs all being quite lengthy, they never in the slightest feel too long or dragging. There's just the right amount of variation in all the tracks that just before you tire of hearing one repeating pattern, a new sound or rhythm is added to the mix. 

The final track "Slow Lights" is a departure, with no drums and just hypnotically looping synth patterns with an intermittent fat low-end. After hearing 20 minutes of mid tempo house music, it's a welcome change of pace but the title tack is album highlight, for no other reason than it features the most engaging variation. 

In December of 2013, things were looking pretty dark for fans of the prodigious psych-punks Thee Oh Sees. After six years and seven LPs, John Dwyer announced that the band was going to be taking a break for an indefinite amount of time and he will be leaving the band's native San Francisco for LA. Things turned around pretty quickly because he clarified they weren't going anywhere and another album was due out in the Spring. Released on Record Store Day, that album is now here. 

Rather a full band affair like Floating Coffin, Drop was recorded with a very similar line-up to 2012's Putrefiers II with Dwyer playing most everything and long-time engineer, mixer, and producer Chris Woodhouse playing drums as well as some additional things not covered Dwyer. There's also some additional players who provide saxophones including Mikal Cronin. Recorded in Woodhouse's new studio The Dock, the album definitely feels like the product of a couple of guys holded up in a studio. 

The album opens up with "Penetrating Eye", probably the hardest rocking track on here, which easily could have fit in on Floating Coffin. On this album, a carefully layered and composed orchestra of guitars is king. On some tracks multiple guitar solos are played at once, tones change with the structure of the song, and the drums and basses create a grooving base layer for the guitars to do their work. Among the dense guitar rock, Drop is also home to some of Thee Oh Sees most direct pop songs with Camera boasting what is probably their catchiest hook yet and the final track "The Lens" is the most densely arranged Oh Sees song thus far.

There are a pair of more formless interludes on here as well. "Put Some Reverb On My Brother" is a touch too formless for my taste and is the only track that feels like filler. "Trasparent World" on the other hand is a slow tempo mind-melter  led by moaning organs than guitars and the heavily effected vocals just add to the tone. 

The ongoing LAMC single series has reached it's eleventh installment and features songs from Mikal Cronin and WAND.

For the uninitiated, LAMC is a charitable series of 7"s in which a popular indie artist is asked to provide an unreleased track for the A-Side and the B-Side is provided by an up-and-comer of the A-Side artist's choosing. 

Mikal Cronin's song "Soul In Motion" has a Beach Boys style vocal melody, an outmoded drum machine and Cronin's signature recipe of acoustic softness and electric distortion. Had this been on Cronin's 2013 album "MCII", it easily could've been among the best tracks there. The bridge is a fun organ solo and the chorus is sufficiently hooky. It's a great addition to his repertoire.

The B-Side is the recorded debut of WAND, a band who's first LP is set for release on Drag City's God? imprint later this year and was recorded by garage titan Ty Segall, so even without listening, this track carries quite the pedigree. The guitars have a certain unhealthy squall that makes them perfect for this genre of music. The vocals are quiet and not the sonic focus, they would be equally at home on a shoegaze record. The ceaseless drums are the real center piece until the final third where everything really pulls together for a Sabbath-esque finale. 

Download/Purchase here: https://famousclass.bandcamp.com/album/lamc-11

Not only is Girl Talk and Freeway an unlikely pairing, but it’s also a pairing that doesn't sound immediately interesting to me. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard of Freeway’s music, but I haven’t dug deep into it at all. Girl Talk interests me mostly because he’s maintained a certain amount of fame despite his particular medium being mostly relegated to soundcloud weekend warriors.

Yet, opposites attract and the pair have knocked out a fantastic and tight EP that blurs the line between knocking rap music and an energetic DJ dance mix. The six tracks blend together to create the effect of one large track while simultaneously act as individually interesting songs.

After a short intro, the EP begins with kind of a clunker. Waka Flocka Flame’s verse is entertaining but the hook is clumsy and it’s probably the weakest beat on display. Things pick up quickly though with the succeeding tracks. The two best best beats are "Tell Me Yeah" and "Lived It" which both feature soulful samples that really add a lot of personality to the sound. The swaying strings on "Lived It" add a nostalgic tone to the track about Freeway's beginnings. 

The other two tracks feature tougher, darker production. "I Can Hear Sweat" makes use of creepy harpsichords and menacing percussion where as "Suicide" sounds like it could have been put together by Italian horror soundtrackers Goblin with a spooky organ loop and light ghostly background vocals. 

It goes without saying that Freeway goes hard on every track. He raps with such voracity that he's a no-brainer pairing for Girl Talk's constantly busy production. There's so much passion in every line that you really believe his commitment to rapping. He makes this abundantly clear on the "Tell Me Yeah" line "We do this for the culture / Married to the game, I made my mixtape at the altar" 

This EP maybe short but it's excellent warm weather rotation material and ideally this won't be the end of Freeway and Girl Talk's collaboration.

And then there was Lil Spook AKA Spooky Black. The durag-wearing white male from St. Paul, Minnesota who can't possibly over 18 has been posting tracks on his soundcloud since late last year but within the past couple weeks his online brand has exploded with a music video nearing 100,000 views and a LP entitled Black Silk. 

When I was first made aware of Lil Spook, I assumed he was the heir to weird-rap's resident Macklemore equivalent Yung Lean. Another young, white, hip-hop loving kid who's hobby is getting a bit out of hand. Then I pressed play on Spook's single "without u" and was shocked to discover that he had more in common with James Blake than any rapper. 

Marrying cloud-rap that's been waning in and out of popularity for the past five years with the emerging neo-blue eyed soul certainly creates an appealing sound, but the entire album can become a bit stale. The fault can mostly be directed at the production. It's not BAD per se but it gets a tired as it goes. Since Lil Spook is breathily singing as oppsed to rapping, he doesn't interact with the beats much so they end up feeling more like simple synth soundscapes for him so vocalize over. If more care had been given to differentiating the production, then this wouldn't be a problem. The two tracks provided by Greaf (including album highlight "without u") are definitely the two best on here. Maybe it's unfair to expect so much since I imagine that many of these were sourced from Spook's friends or soundcloud, but it's unfortunate since the singing is so surprisingly mature and fully formed. There is a bonus track called "Personal Touch" that is a nice piece of sample heavy vaporwave-esque disco which is a much welcomed change of pace. 

I should specify that it's the singing that is mature and not the lyrics which can times can be reminiscent of livejournal teen pseudo-depression. Lil Spook threatens suicide numerous times across this album and if he's seriously battling depression then hopefully he can overcome it safely but in the context of these songs it can seem melodramatic and corny. There's also plenty references to weed and the phrase "so sexy" which both come off as juvenile. Again "Personal Touch" is the exception with much more light hearted lyrics about wanting to get on the dance floor.  Black Silk is without question a debut. Not only is it literally his first release, it's also garnered him a fair amount of fans very quickly and simultaneously sounds like it could've used some more time in the oven. With any luck, his new found success will result in Lil Spook taking his next release to the next level by including more variety in the production and lyrical topics and maybe a change in moniker to something that doesn't suggest a racial slur. 

Stream/purchase here: http://lilspook.bandcamp.com/album/black-silk

Bay Area rapper Antwon has announced his follow up to last year’s In Dark Denim called Heavy Hearted In Doldrums and in preparation has released the first single entitled “Rain Dance.”

Antwon’s verse is typical of his style, so if you’re a fan of his, you’ll know what to expect from his loud shout raps. He also has a bit of reverb on his voice and sings a little for good measure. The real star here is Lil Ugly Mane, who also produced the track under his basketball star alter ego Shawn Kemp. Lil Ugly Mane has more or less retired from rapping (although he is supposed to released one more album and some sort of boxset in the future) so hearing him back in full force on this track is quite the surprise. He’s turned down the pitchshifting so now his voice is clearer and more precise as he cuts through the hazy beat.

Speaking of which, the beat sounds like it could’ve been pulled off LUM’s Three-Sided Tape series. It features rain soundeffects, a looping woman’s voice, truck rattling drums, and some vibraphone-esque keys and makes complete sense as something Antwon would rap over.

Antwon’s new album Heavy Hearted In Doldrums is due out May 6th, presented by fashion brand UNIF.

As one would expect, Chance the Rapper has taken to social media to release his newest track, requesting that his twitter followers tweet using the hashtag "homestudio" before he throws the song up on Soundcloud. The track is produced by Chance's touring band "The Social Experiment" and (one can assume) recorded in his home studio with little additional vocal production or mixing.

The "live" sound feels more like a handicap than an interesting production choice, sounding like someone just hollering in a room, which is quite literally what it is. The production is fine, but it's nothing wildly different from what we've heard on past Chance projects. The drums and bass knock a bit harder than before, but the blaring cascading horns and synth stabs are some of his production hallmarks. Chance maintains his goal of rarely rapping the same way twice, this time copting and Young Thug or Rich Homie Quan caterwauling flow, barely reaching the final syllable before howling to next line. He pulls it off surprisingly well and if the vocal track was cleaned up ever so slightly in post, this could've fit nicely on Acid Rap.

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/chancetherapper/chance-the-rapper-the-social

Just as any post-demo debut LP should be, Perfect Pussy's first foray into the world of full length albums is a positive progression in every conceivable direction. The sound is fuller, the production is more polished and complete, and the emotion even stronger than before.

As much as I enjoyed the demo EP "I Have Lost All Desire For Feeling," you'd be fighting an uphill battle trying to convince me that it didn't sound like it was recorded with an iPhone in an elevator shaft. While that quality is certainly part of the appeal, the first thing you're likely to notice about "Say Yes to Love" is the marked increase in recording quality. IHLADFF was already surprisingly well mixed and now the sound is up to that standard as well. The bass and drums in particular really benefit from the boost.

The real secret weapon of the Perfect Pussy sound is engineer/noise-man Shaun Sutkus. The inclusion of another noise making element in the lineup opens a lot of sonic doors. With Sutkus pumping out squelching synth noise that fills the punk-distortion quota, the guitar and bass can afford to try things more adventurous and unique in the punk genre. The guitar tone (which was present on IHLADFF, just a bit buried) is generally pretty clean and on tracks like "Big Stars," could easily be lifted and placed in a post rock context.

Of course the other defining characteristic is front-woman Meredith Graves. Her voice is so strong and intense, she has no trouble being heard over the ruckus created by the band. There are also some moments where multiple vocal takes are layered so she's shouting with her self to create an even large flurry of noise. The lyrics are of course just as emotional and impassioned as one would expect after listening to the demo.

The first four tracks are unflinching noise punk destruction with all five members giving 100% energy 100% of the time, but things get more experimental in the second half. "Interference Fits" is comparatively more toned down musically, slowing down and letting go of some of the noise, but it also may be Graves' most intense vocal performance. "Dig" and "Advance Upon the Real" could easily fit on the first half too, but three and half minutes of the latter's run time consists of tape hiss and light synth noodling before giving way to the closing track "VII" which lacks any sort of conventional instrumentation and is instead a nightmarish noise freak out with Graves delivering a hushed vocal performance. This song could practically be a Pharmakon track, but it's not quite as bone-shakingly terrifying.

I can't say that I'm at all surprised by the quality of this groups debut LP; their self released four track tape was so arresting that it placed among my favorite albums of last year and now they have successfully cashed in on the promise of that project, but that doesn't make this winner any less impressive.

Order from Captured Tracks here: http://www.capturedtracks.com/shop/_ct-release/ct-192-perfect-pussy-say-yes-to-love-lpcd/

For fans of Weezer who have unfortunately been diagnosed with ADHD, this the album for you. Tony Molina has condensed the guitar-heavy, hook-ready hard pop rock songwriting into one incredibly brief 12 track "LP" (the whole thing clocks in at around 12 minutes so I have a hard time calling this a LP, but whatever) 

Actually, he did this last year and released the album on the small San Francisco based label Melters which quickly sold out. Now the Bay Area punk mainstay and strange-but-apparent bedfellow for Antwon's Nature World clique is reissuing his album with Slumberland Records, providing a much wider release.

Calling this "Weezer but shorter" is a bit reductive, but quite apt. The guitars are layered and chug along with a Sunn O))) esque amount of low end fuzz, the solos are melodic and sweet and the vocal stylings aren't far off from Cuomo's either. Molina's voice actually sounds a lot like They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh. 

None of this is a bad thing by the way, it's fantastic to hear a harder edged, lo-fi take on this sound and the songwriting is killer even if all the songs are extremely brief. The short running time also lends itself to numerous repeat listens, I found myself diving immediately back in after the album ended several times over. 

Since bands like TMBG and Weezer have struck such a chord with fans over the years, there's really no reason a fantastic songwriter like Tony Molina should have any problem finding an attentive audience and if either of these bands appeal to you, then you might find yourself as a member of that very audience. 

Stream the album on Pitchfork Advanced here: http://pitchfork.com/advance/375-dissed-and-dismissed/

Order a copy from Slumberland here: http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/267

Whether it be with his old band Bare Wires or with his current project Warm Soda, Matthew Melton is the leading purveyor of garage soft rock. Opting for softer pop sophistication rather than the raunchy distortion of lo-fi contemporaries, his music has always focused on pop sweetness songwriting.

Warm Soda's newest record "Young Reckless Hearts" doesn't make any significant departures from their sound, instead they spend their time perfecting their songwriting and production. Each of the albums twelve songs play out like different scenes from an ongoing romance with light guitars, cushy drums, and bouncing bass lines. The album's secret weapon is it's fantastic vocal production and back up singing that really round out the sound, used to it's highest effect on the title track.

There's very little variety in instrumentation and over all sound which may prove tiring for some listeners, but undeniably catchy hooks should be enough to hold most people's attention. The catchiest hook belongs to album highlight "When Your Eyes Meet Mine"  which also boasts pleasant layered guitars and more of that amazing vocal production. The album closes out with a harder rocking change of pace "Stranger to Me" that features a large solo-laden instrumental segment that is significantly tougher than anything else on the record. 

Anyone familiar with the incredible and much missed UK one-man band Gross Magic will want to welcome Warm Soda into their ears and those who are getting tired of garage rock's tendency to crank the gain and mash three chords will also probably be smart to check them out.