GEM CAT VINYL

With 2017 over, I thought I’d list some great EP’s I heard this year, worth a listen.

THESE ARE LISTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER!

5 INJURY RESERVE - DRIVE IT LIKE IT’S STOLEN

The most recent project from Rap Trio Injury reserve sees them releasing some of their moodiest and lowkey music so far, as well as some brilliantly off kilter loud jazz rap. A solid EP from a brilliant new act in Hip Hop.

4 KAMASI WASHINGTON - HARMONY OF DIFFERENCE

2 years after his debut, 3 Hour, album  aptly titled the epic. Kamasi is back with a new EP in 6 movements, each musing on some large and powerful topics, (truth, desire,integrity, to name a few). As you’d expect this is a flawless and impressive set of Jazz standards.

3 ARIEL PINK AND WEYES BLOOD - MYTHS 002

A 4 track EP, created during a week long residency at Mexican Summer’s Marfa Myths festival, sees Lofi Psych eccentric Ariel Pink and Electro folk singer Weyes blood combine their talents and sounds to create a surreal set of fantasy inspired music. A challenging and muddled listen, oozes a lot of charm and creativity.

2 DANNY L HARLE - 1UL

FINALLY! new music from PC music hero HUGE DANNY Aka Danny L Harle! this 4 song EP sees him playing to his strengths, creating colourful futuristic bubblegum pop with a good dose of electronic weirdness. Danny proves here how good of a producer and songwriter he is, Well Worth a listen.

1 DEATH GRIPS - STEROIDS [CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN GABBER MEGAMIX]

2017 is almost over, and it has been a great year for music. We’re counting down some of the best and my favourite records from this year, and why they stood out to me as fantastic!

HONOURABLE MENTIONS Best Compilation -BADBADNOTGOOD Late Night Tales Mix

All 5 King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Albums released this year are worth a listen!

THUNDERCAT - DRUNK

ST VINCENT - MASSEDUCTION

MAC DEMARCO _ THIS OLD DOG

15-10 These first ten albums are listed in no particular order. 15 RATBOY - SCUM

Ratboy’s Grungy debut record was one of the most fun albums to come out in 2017, with it delivering equal parts quality music and immature wit. It stands out to me due to its sincerity as a record, Jordan produced a album that is unapologetically him, wearing its influences on its sleeve and being proudly DIY. Check it out here LISTEN

BEST TRACK - TURN AROUND M8

14 PARAMORE - AFTER LAUGHTER

I’ve never been a Paramore fan, the limited work I’d heard from them never wowed me, so After Laughter and its sheer brilliant sound really caught me off guard! Paramore gave us probably one of the best mainstream pop LPs of 2017, full of sleek bouncy production, consistently powerful vocals, and some amazingly well crafted, bittersweet lyrics. My only complaint is that the album isn’t longer! Check it here LISTEN

BEST TRACK - FAKE HAPPY

13 FATHER JOHN MISTY - PURE COMEDY

Let’s be honest. The past few years have been a bit shit. A LOT of horrible stuff has happened, and it can sometimes feel like the world is on its last legs. Pure Comedy ,as a record, captures that mood like no other. 

It’s moody, cynical, lovelorn, emotive and funny. FJM pens some of his best songs yet, and gives some of his most powerful vocal performances too. As challenging a listen it can be, boasting 2 songs over 10 minutes, Pure comedy is some essential listening if you enjoy singer-songwriter music. Listen HERE

BEST TRACK - BALLAD OF THE DYING MAN

12 ARIEL PINK - DEDICATED TO BOBBY JAMESON

Ariel Pink is a pretty eccentric and annoyingly pretentious musician, seemingly on the levels of Zappa and others from that era. Yet, he and his albums are extremely endearing. I only discovered him this year, Listening to 2014′s POM POM over the summer and becoming quickly obsessed with his personal brand of surreal nostalgic music. 

I then learnt of this new album, and it did not disappoint. the charm and nostalgia for something you were never part of comes in droves and results in another technicolour beautiful mess of a record. HUGELY recommend, especially as an introduction to Ariel. LISTEN

BEST TRACK - TIME TO LIVE

11 SZA - CTRL

On her Debut studio album, released through Kendrick’s label TOP DAWG, SZA proves she is one of the best new RnB artists out there, and one of many amazing new independent female artists. 

One after another Ctrl dishes out brilliantly moody, introspective and sexy ballads, each of which have some pretty unique choices musically, giving the record a standout sound. Another album you NEED to hear. Check it LISTEN

BEST TRACK - DREW BARRYMORE

10 COURTNEY BARNETT + KURT VILE - LOTTA SEA LICE

The perfect combination of musicians!!!! US based singer songwriter Kurt Vile and Melbourne indie rock hero Courtney Barnett join forces for the best collaborative album of 2017, and possibly the best indie rock album of 2017. Both artists bring out the best in each other lyrically and musically, and have a perfect chemistry that leads to a 9 track LP that just oozes warmth and charm, a great autumnal record. Listen HERE

BEST TRACK - OUTTA THE WOODWORK

9 CHARLI XCX - NUMBER 1 ANGEL

Charli XCX is my favourite pop artist right now, period. She has somehow cracked the ever-present issue of writing music that can both top the charts and stay creative. This record is her pushing the boat creatively, and realising the masses of potential shown with her Vroom Vroom EP. 

With the help of PC music, she delivers a mixtape of varied and catchy bubblegum pop, a cocktail of new and old pop music staples. Theres some brilliant features too (shout out to Cupcakke!) Check it out here LISTEN.

BEST TRACK - BABYGIRL

8 KENDRICK LAMAR - DAMN.

The GOAT, K-Dot dropped out of thin air his latest project, a record like nothing else he’s released. DAMN. is aggressive, dark, muddled and personal, rough around the edges in an incredibly fitting and artful way. This record offers curveballs at every corner, from a U2 feature to outright pop rap tracks, near vicious vocal delivery and the ever presence of “NEW KUNG FU KENNY!”

While it isn’t the grand statement To Pimp a Butterfly is, I don’t think it set out to be. DAMN is a record that’s surprising and brilliant. LISTEN

BEST TRACK - XXX

7 ALT J - RELAXER

Relaxer is the much anticipated third album from ALT J, who have continued to prove to me why they are one of my all time favourite bands. Despite it being their most sporadic and genre hopping record, it is an album that twists and turns in such creative and unpredictable ways. 

It offers everything you want from ALT J, a set of artful, weird, haunting, beautiful, pretentious and poetic songs that stick in your head. Also 3WW is one of the best songs ALT J has ever made, it’s brilliant. RELAXER is ESSENTIAL listening for 2017, preferably live. Listen HERE

BEST TRACK - 3WW

6 PRINCESS NOKIA - 1992 DELUXE

The past few years have seen a resurgence in Independent and strong female artists being recognised for producing amazing RnB, Hip Hop and Soul music. Artists like SZA, Kali Uchis, Tommy Genesis and Anna Wise have been able to break into the mainstream from underground success. 

Though all of these women are FANTASTIC, for me the artist and album that has best embodied this badass feminine, strong willed approach to music is Princess Nokia on 1992 DELUXE. This album is varied collection of new and old hip hop staples, from lofi hip hop to trap, all created with a clear underground flair, and a strong sense of confidence and humour. Princess Nokia deserves all her success and more. Truly Badass Divine Energy.

check it HERE.

BEST TRACK - ABC’S OF NEW YORK

TOP 5 These albums are my five favourite albums of 2017, with number 1 being my favourite release of 2017.

5 IGL☉☉GHOST - NEŌ WAX BLOOM

The only truly electronic record in this list, Neō Wax Bloom is the best thing to come out of the genre this year. IGLOOGHOST delivers 40 something minutes of pure high energy breakbeat style dance music, soaked in sugar and mystique. Each song is incredibly dense and colourful, bringing elements of free Jazz, UK Garage, PC Music, IDM, Techno and rave together into a neat and well crafted package of music . 

Complimented by equally stellar artwork and a surreal astrological backstory, Neō Wax Bloom is truly truly unique. LISTEN.

BEST TRACK - SUPER INK BURST

4 TYLER, THE CREATOR - FLOWER BOY

Tyler has been one of the most unique artists in mainstream hip hop for a long time, with a loyal fanbase ever since the creation of OFWGKTA. He is also someone who as a person I have a great deal of respect for, because of his proud sense of self and creative motivation. Despite this, he hasn’t always been a good musician in my opinion, even looking past some EXTREMELY questionable lyrics over the years. 

However, With Flower Boy, he’s proved himself to be someone truly special, something he’s had potential to be since day one. Flower Boy is his most thoughtful, mature, introspective and creative album to date. Tyler plays to his strengths, and offers a near perfect hip hop/RnB album, chocked full of fantastic features. Another ESSENTIAL 2017 listen.  Check IT

BEST TRACK - BOREDOM

3 REX ORANGE COUNTY - APRICOT PRINCESS

Off the back of his stellar features on Flower Boy, I decided to listen to Rex Orange County’s Debut studio album, and somehow its pure charm and musical talent made it just surpass Flower Boy in my favourites list! To quote a FADER interview tagline “Rex Orange County Is Teenage Joy Personified” And he truly is. Apricot princess effortlessly blends RnB, Jazz, London Rap and Lo-Fi rock across 10 tracks of bittersweet bliss. One of the best new artists out there. Listen HERE

BEST TRACK - TELEVISION/SO FAR SO GOOD

2 BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION TRILOGY

These 3 albums share the number 2 spot, as some of the best hip hop of 2017. Brockhampton is a LA based 17 member Boyband (and yes, they are a boyband) creating music 100% themselves, and it is lyrically better and better produced than 90% of mainstream Hip hop from 2017. 

If that doesn’t convince you, it’s also extremely diverse and fun to listen to. I hope this is the start of more AMAZING independent Rap, music and ART, breaking the mainstream. Do yourself a favour and don’t sleep on this fire! 🔥

BEST TRACK(S) - SWEET, STAR, 

1 KING KRULE - THE OOZ

The OOZ is my favourite record to come out in 2017. Which is a big surprise to me. I only heard of King Krule a day after this album came out, and I decided to listen to it off the back of the fantastic singles. And it blew me away. its so unique in its approach and sound, combining Post Punk, Jazz, lo fi Rock, Ambient music, Trip Hop and outright Crooner vocal delivery (Its almost like someone told Archy some of my favourite genres and this was the outcome). The OOZ was made for me.

 Further than his though, This record has a haunting and poetic beauty to it, flowing almost like slime, with its constant woeful and meandering sound, twisting and turning between styles, and combinations of emotionally potent and nonsensical lyrics. This album sounds like its cover, it sounds like the colour blue, it smells like cigarettes and saltwater. it’s a midnight masterpiece, and my favourite album from 2017. LISTEN

WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO - SEPTEMBER 2017 Heres 10 Album and Single picks I added to my music library new and old this month, that I highly recommend!

BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION 1 AND 2 

The best in hip hop right now, period. Listen 

COURTNET BARNETT - SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT

A great mix of lowkey indie rock from Australia. Listen

LUCY DACUS - NO BURDEN

A solid album of satisfying indie music. Listen

FLYING LOTUS - LOS ANGELES

This month was my first experience of what many considers Flylo’s best. If you’ve heard it before now is the time to revisit it. Listen 

BLUR - PARKLIFE AND THE GREAT ESCAPE

This month led me to revisit a long time favourite band, and I’m currently listening through their whole discography. I recommend their fab debut, as well as one of my personal favourite blur albums. Listen

OCTO OCTA - WHERE ARE WE GOING?

A fab chillout record from somewhat underground house and dance artist octo octa. I highly recommend this album, its important to support to all trans and LGBTQ artists! Listen

TOMMY GENESIS - “TOMMY” SINGLE

The latest single from doom heavy rap girl Tommy Genesis is fierce af. Listen

BAXTER DURY - HAPPY SOUP

You may know Baxter through his appearance on the most recent slaves record. Check out his cynically pretty 2011 album before the release of the upcoming Prince of tears. Listen

KURT VILE AND COURNTEY BARNETT - LOTTA SEA LICE SINGLES

The two singles so far from the upcoming Barnett/Vile album are both wonderful. Excited for the full release. Listen

IGLOOGHOST - NEŌ WÁX BLOÖM SINGLES

ALBUM REVIEW - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard & Mild High Club, Sketches of Brunswick East

In a LONG overdue review, we’re looking at the 3rd album of a promised 5 to come out THIS YEAR alone, from Australian Psych rock outfit King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. King Gizzard are a frankly crazy and exciting group, both with their weird lo-fi sound, unique and bizarre aesthetic and the sheer volume of work they produce, with a discography of 11 studio records since 2010.

If King Gizzard aren’t known for their sound, they’re certainly known for their album concepts, which have included fully acoustic albums (Paper Maché Dream Balloon), albums using microtonal instruments (Flying Microtonal Banana), a 40 minute album featuring only 4 tracks (Quarters!) and even a album in the form of a spoken word fantasy space opera earlier this year (Murder of the Universe).

However for this most recent release, king gizzard have set their sights on a much more unambitious concept, a Jazz record, enlisting the help of the much lesser known and honestly less interesting jazz project Mild High Club.

So, how does Sketches of Brunswick East actually sound? and how does it compare to other releases from the extended Gizzverse?

The album opens with the first of 3 title tracks that frame the record. The first is a brief instrumental intro, driven predominantly by a simple piano line and flute lead. This intro does a brilliant job of setting the albums mainly breezy and lowkey tone and establishes the heavy use of background noise on the record, with the sort of cold open to the track and the sounds of a train station. A solid start.

Countdown is straight away immediate and groovy in its instrumental, coupled with raspy vocals from Gizz lead singer Stu Mackenzie, which have their trademark doom, cultist undertones in the lyrics. This track has a nostalgic and warm feel to it, present on the entire album, as well as a lot of swagger. Close to the tracks close is a smooth guitar line, along with a reprisal of the chorus. A solid track.

We go straight into the next track, D-day, opening with fitting church bell and explosion samples. This track is the first to bring in some trademark King Gizzard sounds, including a strong and bizarre horn lead and tinny drums. For a very similar and much better track of this type, i’d look to the much more substantial Rattlesnake from Flying Microtonal Banana. 

Tezeta is next, with a smooth gloomy guitar intro that turns into a bizarre and groovy choir, then devolves into a summery and chilled out guitar and snare driven series of verses. This track also includes a bizarre series of spoken word samples, that Gizzard fans will recognise this as the voice of Han-Tyumi on Murder of the Universe, who here is much more witty and less vomit obsessed. A distorted and loud guitar solo is the tracks centrepiece, giving an extremely breezy song a more dark edge. definitely a standout track, and the most substantial so far.

Cranes, Planes, Migraines could be considered an interlude with its short run time and lack of vocals. It’s a fun yet bizarre addition, which makes good use of some very moody subway ambience.

The Spider and Me is the most relaxing and watery track so far, especially with the use of fountain ambience and loud bird song. The xylophone and drum fronted instrumental gives the track a clear psychadelic vibe, and puts me in mind of music of its type from the 60s combined with traditional children TV of the time. This song clearly and unapologetically wants to create the feeling of a country garden full of hippies, and it is all the better for it.

The center of the record is our second title track, this one being much longer in length. The track opens with a weird crackling, vaudeville-esque sample, followed by a drum beat and flute based instrumental alongside some groovy and meandering electric organ, mainly in the same key and to the same tune as the intro. the track also includes at various moments the same noise of church bells, as well as general ambience. This track is extremely atmospheric and airy, and like with much of the album has a very sincere and DIY live quality to it, as if everything has been recorded in one take. A personal favourite.

Dusk to Dawn on Lygon Street is as immediate as it is traditionally jazzy. Much of its overall sound sums up the sound present across the whole album. Every musical signature as it were on the record crops up in some form here. The inclusion of what appears to be the ambience of a crowded bar and street is some of the best use of sound effects in my opinion, creating the feeling the track is being played live.

The Book, while still holding its jazz aesthetic and musical palette, is perhaps the closest we get to a “standard” King Gizzard song. The tracks opener is the grating organ lead we’ve heard on many tracks from the band, however here it soon turns into a groovy and dense jazz tune. This track has the strongest vocals and lyrics on the entire album. Stu’s performance here is awesome and witty, with tongue in cheek and luckily unpretentious lyrics, where he muses on religion and his own atheist beliefs. The use of varied and unorthodox live instruments makes the whole track feel playful, and provides energy present nowhere else on the record. I especially enjoy the cowbell. By far my favourite track on the album!

A Journey to S(Hell) is the weirdest shorter track on the album and a good follow up to The Book. A heavily packed instrumental makes uses of a whole array of horror style sound effects and ambience, with a ever building synth that creates an anxiety inducing feeling. The track constantly twists and turns, even switching off and on again at one point. The tracks close and transition to the next is also very funny with a sudden shift back to the woozy dreamy sound of the rest of the album.

Rolling Stoned has been a fan favourite, and is the best put together of the more dreamy styled songs. The flute lead keeps it simple and relaxed at first, with the substance of the song appearing as the song progresses. My main criticism of this track and others of its type, is that the use of repetition makes some tracks border boring in places. luckily none of them are entirely boring, but its something that does hinder the album.

You Can Be Your Silhouette has a very french quality to its instrumental, and is a track that is truly better for its simplicity. There’s not much to be said about it honestly, other than it’s a good song.

The album closes with the 3rd title track, a woozy lo fi short outdo, that feels like a sleepy goodbye to the album in a way, reprising the flute tune of the previous two title tracks. A decent close.

Overall, Sketches of Brunswick is an Extremely consistent album in terms of sound and quality, and is a record that sounds unique in the context of King Gizzard’s discography, its closest counterpart being Paper Maché Dream Balloon.

Despite this, its also their most subtle and unassuming album, something I think will result in it being overlooked and underrated by fans and critics alike. 

In my opinion, while there are better King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard records available, this album is a fab set of lo fi  and off kilter jazz music, as well as a good introduction to Stu and the group’s diverse and recognisable sound.

I give it a 7/10

BEST TRACKS - The Book, Tezeta, Dusk and Dawn on Lygon Street, Sketches of Brunswick East II, You Can Be Your Silhouette

LEAST FAVOURITE TRACKS - D-day, Countdown

Album Review: RATBOY -SCUM

A REVIEW SO SOON AFTER THE ALBUM DROPPED? WOW!

We’re looking at the long awaited debut album from Jordan Cardy, AKA Ratboy. If you’ve been following Ratboy up to this point, you’ll know how long this album took to come out, with some of the singles from SCUM dropping as far back as April 2015!

I’ve been aware of Ratboy for a few years now, I remembering listening to the brilliantly British single Sign On some time ago, and ignorantly complaining about how the songs lyrics were a little hypocritical, considering Jordan was wearing a $300 Supreme Box Logo hoodie in the music video.

Anyway, fast forward to Kendrick Lamar releasing DAMN. and noticing Ratboy in the sample credits to the track LUST. I started to read about their upcoming album, and looked into the yet to be fully released Ratboy clothing line (also called SCUM)

After a little more reading, and seeing the fantastic album cover for SCUM, I gave it a listen.

And I’m really glad I did.

I decided I’d put my thoughts on the interludes separate to the actual tracks, as so it feels a little more concise, and you can skip the stuff on the interludes if you only want my thoughts on the music!!

THE TRACKLIST

WELCOME TO MY WORLD is our introduction to SCUM, a short intro track. The open to this track is legitimately one of my favourite instrumentals of the entire album, it has such a great woozy feeling that really brings you into the album. It then goes into a radio show clip, present on nearly all the interludes, delivered by “Stevie” the presenter for the ever failing “SCUM RADIO” .The fake radio station clips, similar to the ones that appeared on Tyler, the creator’s last two albums Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy, add a lot of humour to the album, as well as tie it together pretty decently.

TURN AROUND M8 is a great energetic opener to the album. The instrumental has a clear Brit-pop influence, the chorus akin to a Blur track. The echo distorted voice samples adds a DIY quirk to the song, as well add to the already dense sample heavy instrumental. I especially like the piano line near the tail of the track. Ratboy’s vocals on this track are delivered with a load of confidence and control, and introduces us well to his quickly recognisable singing voice. A perfect intro to the album.

The shouty intro to REVOLUTION is perhaps at first grating, but it soon becomes brilliantly catchy. The first track of many with a political angle, the lyrics are some of best, and the noisy high energy instrumental fits it well. I especially like the use of the electric organ towards the middle of the track, as well as the weird fairground-esque alarm sample, someone tell me where this is from! Ratboy has a great knack for making a wall of sound effects really engaging, catchy and danceable!

LAIDBACK is our first track that is less angry and loud, and is instead more like a pop punk ballad. Another incredibly catchy song, that is a definite ear worm. with the lyrics, this is one of the more sincere and mature sounding songs on the album. the instrumental is much more simple, driven by live guitar and drums. This song is a lot of fun to listen to, and has the potential to be a much deserving summer hit!

ILL BE WAITING is another more chilled out song, with a clear Brit-pop influence, note the horn lead on the instrumental. Are we sure this isn’t a cover of a lost Blur song? If it is, it’s as good as Blur ever were. My main criticism of this track is how corny the lyrics are. “I changed my number, but i can change it back” is a pretty naff line, honestly. The hopeful feel to the instrumental keeps the track engaging, and makes it another solid track.

MOVE is a return to that brilliant aggression. Its fast pace and booming, disorienting, sample heavy instrumental makes it one the most engaging tracks here. the vocal delivery puts me in mind of The Beastie Boys, with that weird combo of punk and classic hip hop, and I’m sure thats intentional, Jordan is a big fan. The “oh oh oh” choir near the tail end of the track is super reminiscent of Blur’s Girls and Boys, and The end to this track is really satisfying, with a familiar combo of record scratches and string samples. Another standout track.

BOILING POINT Is the loudest track so far, with its heavy guitar and drum clattering. This is the standout political track, with the best lyrics of that type. They are blunt and direct, which flows well against the instrumental. The “OH YEAHHH” sample gives the song a revolutionary feel, you can imagine this in the middle of a protest. The chorus is great, “We all had dreams, When we were young, But now we’re loaded, Just like a gun” and in my opinion the best verse of the album so far, “The world is near boiling point, Seeing Theresa May who we didn’t appoint, Living for the sound of silent missiles, That within one second can reach fifteen miles, Something’s wrong, can’t you see? How can you let people on the street freeze? This is our so-called democracy”

FAKE ID is one of the tracks on the album that we’ve heard various versions of since 2015, and has a DIY feel to it that would make sense as a result. The instrumental has live punk rawness to it. The lyrics tell the story of getting mugged walking home after Ratboy has had his Fake ID declined. The song has a very english feel to it, with references to JD sports, PE (as any UK student will know one of the worst parts of secondary school) and broken fags 🚬. I’m a big fan of the chorus “He said “hand over the money, this ain’t funny. What’s this, are you taking the piss? Where’s your iPhone 6, I ain’t stealing this shit. Come here, bitch” Not the best track here, but still a great song.

GET OVER IT feels like one of the best produced songs, you can tell a lot time and effort went into it. The instrumental is almost solely made of simple drum sample alongside a woozy, summery vocal sample. Its one of the tracks that stands out as unique in the context of the whole album because of this. Ratboy sings through a variety of different filters, is especially like the delivery of “PUT YA FUCKIN HANDS IN THE AIR!” through radio distortion. One of my favourite tracks of the album.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Is another older track reworked for the album, and has a dizzyingly loud feel to it, with the heavy breakbeat and loud electric guitar. This track is super high energy and raw. LUST ,the Kendrick Lamar track, includes a heavily pitched sample from this song, something which to me makes a lot of sense with the similar angry rawness of DAMN.

SPORTSWEAR is my least favourite song on SCUM. Sorry.The vocal delivery here is some of the weakest in my opinion, the cracked delivery at the start of the chorus is just annoying, and the echo on the majority of the vocals is unnecessary. The lyrics themselves are the best feature of the track, they’re more introspective in content and tone. The instrumental is the wall of sound concept done poorly too. This track is just so weak when its heard alongside so many great tracks.

LEFT 4 DEAD has grown on me a lot. I especially like the slot machine jackpot sample, and the Thames Tv jingle at the start. The instrumental is mainly live instrument driven, and has a great high energy. The delivery of the chorus is very awkward, which I can’t work out if it love or hate, the lyric itself however, “Well, hold on. I’ve got the right amount of money you said you need, Well, I’ve just got to nip up the Co-Op, it’s just down the road, I think they’ve got a working cash machine” is pretty hilarious. Considering this was my least favourite at first, I now really like it.

SIGN ON is I think the oldest Ratboy track on SCUM. Lyrically this is the most British Thing ever. Wetherspoons? Signing on? Scratchcards? very British. The instrumental makes this the most straightforward and rock driven track. Though it’s not of my personal favourites, I love how sincere it feels, like it was recorded in some kids garage late at night. Nice.

EVERYDAY is another Brit-pop heavy fun track, with bittersweet lyrics about working hard, only to stay poor. It has a fun reckless teenager vibe to it, with another fun instrumental. That Jeremy Kyle line is fantastic. Unfortunately this track falls into the background for me against others, though this is one of Ratboy’s best vocal performances.

SCUM ,Our title track, is another heavy high energy rock track, with a busy instrumental. This is the most Jamie T style track, though Ratboy does have a somewhat similar vocal inflection (I prefer Ratboy). A pretty conventional track, tough this doesn’t mean it isn’t great! It feels like the true closer to the album, though there is two tracks to go.

SAD SAD (feat. Mallory Merk) The only feature on the album, this track is a weird change of pace near the end, a smooth RnB tinged ballad, with vocals from Mallory Merk that give the song A Rex Orange County or Flower Boy vibe. This is another standout vocal performance from Ratboy. The clattering samples at the tracks end is especially weird, though it somehow works well.

KICKED OUTTA SCHOOL is our closing track, another track in a similar vein to SCUM ,is high energy and fun, and includes a great Beastie Boys -esque incorporation of a very familiar sample. The “thank you and goodnight” lines at the end are also very funny.

THE HIDDEN TRACK is a short song appears hidden at the end of the closing track. the distorted guitar is reminiscent again to Flower boy or Slow Hollows. This is weirdly pretty and subtle way to completely finish the album.

THE INTERLUDES

STEVIES FIRST WIFE - One of more cheesy interludes, this radio intro to LAIDBACK is kinda funny, but it’s still a little corny and annoying.

BIG FUCKA BURGERS - Definitely, the best and funniest interlude, BIG FUCKA BURGERS is a super crude and aggressive fast food advert. I especially love the ending. “OF COURSE I WANT THE FUCKING NINJA TOY I HOPE MY KID CHOKES ON IT!!!!”

BREAKING NEWZ - A Radio news bulletin from Stevie, this interlude only makes sense if you’ve seen the music video for the song GET OVER IT, which I recommend you check out!

TRUMPTOWERS - It’s obligatory Trump reference time! This instrumental does a good job of incorporating it. It’s to the point, VERY funny and brief.

SHADOWZ - A great woozy musical interlude, with an instrumental I’m a big fan of. 

SIRENZ - Another Radio ident, introducing the track SCUM. Nothing too interesting about this one, but I do like that random horn freakout.

POST SCUM - One of the funnier interludes, a dig at those inevitable disgusted christian mothers who think swear words and loud music will turn their children evil.

END OF THE ROAD - A hilarious closing interlude, where SCUM radio is shut down and Stevie is arrested. Stevie’s dialogue is its funniest here.

In Conclusion, SCUM exceeded my expectations in every way. It’s a fun, engaging, noisy, exciting and funny album full of charm and sincerity. Ratboy has proved himself to be not just a serious musician worth your time, but one the best new artists to hit the mainstream.

SCUM is one of my favourite albums of 2017. I give it an 8/10

FAVOURITE TRACKS - TURN AROUND M8, SAD SAD, MOVE, LAIDBACK, REVOLUTION, GET OVER IT

ALBUM REVIEW - Mura Masa, Self titled

Only a short while after it dropped, we’re looking at the self titled debut album from UK producer and DJ Alex Crossan, AKA Mura Masa. My knowledge of Mura Masa was very limited before the release of this project, with my only exposure to his music being the Charli XCX featuring single 1 Night, which appears on this LP. 

This record is one of many recently that follows the producer curated format, where almost every song in the tracklist contains a vocal feature, while the title artist provides all the production. 

For this format to work, there needs to be clear chemistry between the producer and the feature, throughout the record. If this is the case, the format can be a fantastic way for all the artists involved to showcase their talent (Kaytranda’s 99.9%), and if it isn’t, the album feels like a spotty compilation without a focus (Gorillaz’ Humanz).

So, what is Mura Masa like?

The Album opens with one of just two tracks without a feature, and instead uses a heavily auto-tuned vocal performance from Mura himself, Messy Love. 

This track is definitely an engaging start to the record, which demonstrates a musical tone present throughout. The song features a heavy drum and bass beat throughout, coupled with a bizarre yet upbeat cowbell sample(?). The song’s structure is typical of a radio friendly house track, with a build to a instrumental drop. The lyrics are a pretty simple corny love plea, which I personally don’t mind. There are some interesting samples spliced throughout, as well as heavily distorted and muffled guitar line at the tail end. A decent opener.

Our first feature comes from female vocalist Bonzai, an artist who I’ve never heard of besides her two features on this album, with the hilariously named track Nuggets. This song is a highlight for me, with its booming samples of cheering club goers, a groovy guitar line and a classic drum clap sample. Bonzai’s vocals have a controlled and confident sound to them, which really compliments the instrumental. The main lyric “I got I got nuggets” is accidentally hilarious, making the song sound more about a mcnuggets happy meal, than its intended drug reference.

Love$ick featuring A$AP Rocky is another fun track, with its main melody the first track of many to feature a steel drum sample. This is alongside a second much more conventional yet busy drum sample, and a high pitched vocal sample “I need you”. The instrumental is the best part of the song, though this track has the obligatory air horn sample, you know the one I mean. While Rocky’s vocals compliment the track and aren’t badly delivered. they are pretty underwhelming. The track also features another lot of accidentally hilarious lyrics, I can’t decide if I hate or love the line “I ain’t talking ‘bout MasterCards, debit cards either. Credit charge, Kermit the Frog, margaritas”

1 Night ,Featuring Charli XCX is another highlight for me, again featuring a steel drum beat, this time alongside an extremely pretty harp sample. Charli can’t seem to disappoint on a song in recent years, her feature is one of the best on the album, and makes the song sound flawless. This track does highlight an issue of the album as a whole, which is that this track feels like a Charli XCX single, not a Mura Masa track. She steals the show to the point that you don’t care who produced the song.

All Around The World ,Featuring Desiigner is probably the best I’ve heard Desiigner on a song, however it is still Desiigner. His trademark growls appear throughout the song. Whats more annoying than their presence, is that they are the exact same ones we hear on Panda. The instrumental is a solid trap influenced beat, again featuring a tinny steel drum sample, as well some weirdly fitting woodwind samples? It’s not a bad song, but it’s not my cup of tea.

give me the ground is a gentle interlude track, again featuring a heavily auto-tuned performance from Mura. This song has a genuinely charming quality to it, with its stripped down instrumental and the cough we hear at the tracks close. However, it still sounds like someone doing a bad impression of Bon Iver. Sorry.

What If I Go? another Bonzai featuring track, is the most commercial track on the album. Bonzai’s feature on Nuggets is better, but she again delivers solid vocals. The instrumental is this song’s best feature, with some fun heavily pitched vocal samples, the return of both the harp and the steel drums, a clinking cup sample at the tracks start, pretty pianos and a booming synth lead at the drop.

Firefly featuring NAO is super forgettable, are we sure it doesn’t use the same chords as the song before it? NAO gives a decent performance, and I appreciate the harp again, but otherwise i found myself wanting to skip this track.

NOTHING ELSE! featuring Jamie Lidell opens with a beautiful asian sounding harp sample, a weirdly idyllic open to one of the albums groovier songs. Lidell’s vocals stand out as some of the best, and the lyrics are the most consistently engaging here. The instrumental is simple but fun, I really love the guitar line. A clear stand out, and the most danceable track so far.

Helpline featuring Tom Tripp is a change of pace for the album, with a charmingly British inflection in Tripp’s voice and lyrics referencing Natwest. This song puts me in mind of artists like Ratboy in a weird way, just with how it sounds like it would never translate outside of the UK. The instrumental has a rock element to it whilst still staying very dance oriented. another favourite.

Second 2 None features an artist I really love, Christine and the Queens, however this song was way more underwhelming than I was expecting. While this is one of the better incorporations of more pretty or gentle instrumentation, the drop feels undeveloped. Christine and the Queen’s feature is the best part of the song, and is of a high quality I’d expect from her. This track, in the same way as 1 Night, unfortunately feels more like a weaker song from Chaleur humaine, Christine and the queens debut album, than a Mura Masa track.

Who Is It Gonna B featuring A. K. Paul feels like a weak impression of a Young Fathers track, awkwardly combined with a Jamie XX beat. It’s by no means terrible, I do like the drop of the song, but it’s another track that I’ll be skipping next time I listen to the album.

Blu, the closing track, features the most notable and unexpected feature, Damon Albarn. it has a somber, bittersweet vibe, would you want anything else from a track featuring Damon? The instrumental is one of the more interesting on the whole project, again including harps, alongside distorted nature samples, live drums, and echoed voice samples. Damon’s performance here is better than a handful of his inclusions on Humanz, the latest from Gorillaz. That iconic singing inflection Damon has always excelled at is more present here. The issue however, of features overshadowing Mura’s production, is again present here. The song isn’t recognisably a Mura Masa track, it instead reads like a bonus song from the previous Gorillaz album Plastic Beach. 

In conclusion, Mura Masa’s album debut is certainly inconsistent in terms of quality. It’s highlights are some great infusions of dance, house and pop with stellar performances, which Mura compliments with his production, while its low points are painfully generic, mediocre and forgettable.

As a whole album experience is where Mura Masa falls flat. To me, his debut is like a compilation of both the billboard singles you love, and the ones you couldn’t care less about and skip. There’s a lot of good music here worth a listen, but not enough that I’ll be returning to this record any time soon.

I give it a 5/10.

FAVOURITE TRACKS - 1 Night, Blu, Helpline, NOTHING ELSE!

Little known musician Knox Fortune is perhaps most notable for his appearance on Chance the Rapper’s award winning mixtape Colouring Book, though he has some self released singles to his name. Here are my thoughts on each.

Help Myself is a good introduction to the sound on all the singles. The song is raw and has a DIY feel to it, which is complimented with the pen drawings used for the covers.The rattly beat fits the vocals well, and Knox delivers the most engaging vocals and lyrics on this song of the 3. His distinctively high pitch gives the track a very sincere feeling of hope. I can’t help think of the latest Tyler, the creator album, Flower Boy, when listening. I give it a 7/10

Torture is my least favourite of the 3 singles. The opening vocals are meant to come across as raw and DIY, akin to artists such as Slow Hollows, however they instead are borderline irritating. They are way too distorted and grating to feel charming, and feel badly mixed quite unintentionally. The instrumental however does has that DIY charm. The horn section is fun and has that summery teenage vibe present on all 3 tracks. Swap out the vocals, and this song would be as good as the other singles, however as it is, I don’t like it. 4/10

SINGLE REVIEW - Charli XCX, Boys

Charli XCX has, in a few years, gone from a incredibly mediocre pop star in my opinion, to one of my favourite pop artists. Her 2016 Ep, Vroom Vroom marked her first collaboration with avant-garde production collective and record label PC Music, and to me her first genuinely fantastic music. This was followed up by a guest heavy PC music collaboration mixtape, Number 1 Angel ,a fantastic album I want to do a full review on, and a not so fantastic single, After The Afterparty. 

After The Afterparty, despite PC music production credits, was a lacklustre return to that mediocre sound from before, with it having little to none of the quirk and personality of the mixtape and EP, both of which I love.

Boys however has the perfect balance between the radio friendly sound Charli’s record label are so fond of, and that tongue in cheek quirkiness I find so entertaining. The 8-bit beeps and the weird “XCX” sample ever present on Number 1 Angel are a great intro to the song, and the glitzy synthetic piano and drum beat are equally cute and weird. the entire song is just adorable, very fitting with the lyrics, “I was busy thinking, bout, BOYS”. While the breakdown midway through the song stops it from being too formulaic, the song feels a little brief, and I think the simplicity of the song as a whole could be a turn off for some.

Otherwise this another solid pop hit, and is Charli XCX continuing to shine! 8/10

THE MUSIC VIDEO….

The Promotional material for Arcade Fire’s latest album, Everything Now, has been very involved and bizarre, so I thought I’d collect my thoughts and opinions on it, as well as on the albums artwork.

ALBUM_ART 

The Album artwork was the first bizarre concept choice, with the Vinyl version of the album being available in 20 different languages, each with slight colour and visual variations (a completists nightmare). The Standard covers are a day and night version of the cover, the night version featuring on the limited edition LP, which is on neon blue vinyl. The cover itself is fitting with the album’s concept, and features heavily in the music video for the title track. My favourite aspect of the album art is the fictional corporation logo for each track, and the accompanying lyric booklet with adverts for tie in products.

PROMOTIONAL_MATERIAL

In the lead up to the album, another bold move for the band was them actually RELEASING some of the fictional tie in products, to promote each single. A Chemistry branded energy drink distributed to nightclubs and venues, a Creature Comfort Cereal box containing a CD of the single, hidden in supermarkets, and a upcoming We Don’t Deserve Love dating site! (yes, really). I love this kind of promotion, it creates proper excitement for the album, and is outright funny! it fits well into the albums artistic concept too, as well as the concept of the music itself! I hope more bands adopt this concept of physical promotional products, it’s something that I think would fit bands like Gorillaz, and worked well with Daft Punk.

SOCIAL_MEDIA

Alongside a rebranding of the Arcade Fire Twitter and Instagram, a Everything Now corporation account was made on both platforms. There was a lot of wasted potential with these accounts, considering that heavy social media presence is something perfect for this album. The Instagram has posted little to nothing, while the twitter includes a weird combination of satirical out of context clickbait adverts, deliberately ridiculous everything now branded products (this aspect put me in mind of Tim and Eric), content that would feel better appreciated on their main account, and retweets of annoyingly preachy “capitalism is bad” articles.

ALBUM REVIEW - Arcade Fire, Everything Now.

For the first of hopefully many music reviews, we’re looking at the latest album from legendary alternative band Arcade Fire, Everything Now. Their fifth studio album comes four years after their previous record Reflektor, and boasts production credits from Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter, Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Pulp’s Steve Mackey.

To the dismay of many Arcade Fire fans and music critics, Everything Now marks the band delving further into the realm of disco, dance and pop music, something they first brought into their music on Reflektor, and abandoning the sound they found worldwide success and acclaim with on their first three albums.

Now, to someone who only truly discovered the band through Relfektor and has little experience with their music before this, I don’t understand all the hate this record has been getting! I really like the groovy euro pop tinged sound to be found on almost every song here, an interesting contrast to very direct and tongue in cheek lyrics criticising and celebrating consumerism, modern day depression, and love in a digital age, where everything is now instant.

The album opens with a disorienting interlude track, where the lyrics “I’m in the black again, Can’t make it back again, We can just pretend ,We’ll make it home again, From everything now” woefully crooned by lead singer Win Butler, are quickly enveloped by the noise of sirens, pianos, high pitched voices and robotic static.

The album’s lead single and title track abruptly kick in, With its euro-pop pianos and guitars reminiscent of ABBA, weirdly simple drum patterns and a choir of the phrase Everything Now. It’s hard not to have fun listening to this track, the instrumental has a hopeful quality to it, which you can imagine a stadium singing in unison. The lyrics themselves almost contradict this sense of hope, as they sarcastically reflect on a society where we are bombarded with information and instant gratification, the line “Til every room in my house is filled with shit I can’t live without” stands out to me as one of the funniest lyrics of the album, as well as illustrating one of its core themes. This track is an obvious choice for one of the best tracks on the record, but this is for good reason.

One thing the album consistently does well is the transitions between tracks, which is shown by the intro to Signs of life, a groovy horn and string backed track, with funk production flairs you can instantly attribute to Tom Bangalter. The synths in the song are iconic to daft punk, and really satisfying. The lyrics are less direct than before, with the chorus unfortunately feeling a little repetitive. To me this track would neatly fit onto Reflektor, with its groovy instrumentals.

Creature Comfort is the closest we get to alt rock on a full song, though it is still very electronic in its instrumentation, with a synthetic beeping throughout. The lyrics are direct reflections on teenage depression, brutally and directly referencing self harm, body image and assisted suicide, as well as a desire for fame. This song contains the albums worst lyric, “Filled up the bathtub and put on our first record” a very self congratulatory line that feels almost mean spirited in tone, and sticks out in the song like a sore thumb. The vocal delivery and instrumental stops this from ruining the song, I personally love the back and forth of the male and female vocals.

Peter Pan isn’t by any means a bad song or the worst of the album, the instrumental is groovy, I especially like the booming sound we get in the chorus followed by a wonky synth line, however to me it is the most forgettable. Something about the singing feels flat and the lyrics about being your peter pan if you’ll be Wendy, I’m sorry, are just way too corny for me.

One of the most disliked tracks on the album in reviews, Chemistry, is perhaps the most bizarre and surprising track. The main instrumentation is a chorus of ska trumpets and formulaic drums, with each line finishing with the phrase “Chemistry!” delivered gleefully by Regine Chassange, which unfortunately gets very close to being irritating. Similarly to Everything Now, this track is too fun to dislike, it feels at least self aware of its ridiculousness, and is again tongue in cheek, with its lyrics that border on being the words of a stalker!

Infinite Content and Infinite_Content is another weird turn for the album, a 1 minute punk tinged alt rock track taken up mainly by shouts of “INFINITE CONTENT!”, followed by the same track again, this time as a drowsy country ballad! The rock version is actually another really fun track, a highlight that I wish was a full song. However, while I appreciate the humour of this interlude, especially the sampled audio of Everything Now playing in a supermarket, it kinda disrupts the flow of the entire record. Was it worth it?

This is followed by Electric Blue ,the one track of the album without lead vocals from Win Butler, they instead they come from Regine Chassange. Her vocals on this track are all delivered in this echo filled high pitched tone, which only gets higher as the song progresses. Initially this was a huge turn off for me, with this on my first listen being my least favourite song. This track however has since grown on me, and become one of my highlights. The wonky synthetic sound of the instrumental compliment Regine’s vocals well. The lyrics are the most pop influenced of the album, with the repetitive chorus feeling much less annoying than the chorus of songs with a similar structure (Chemistry for example), yet they still have the engaging satirical feel that is throughout the album.

Good God Damn starts with a very seductive guitar and drum line, and Win’s vocals have a luxurious, nihilistic tone to them. This is a rare track with lyrics that seem to fit rather than contradict the instrumental, however the delivery of the line “And fill the bathtub up” is unintentionally hilarious. The core of this tracks lyrics, however, I interpreted as a simple yet engaging reflection on whether there is a god. Altogether this is a solid pop rock song, though it falls into the background against other tracks on the album.

Put Your Money On Me is another track where Tom Bangalter’s production shines through, with the vocal delivery of the title line reminding me of Tame Impala, and other vocal inflections clearly influenced by David Bowie. The chorus has vocals from Regine which again bring ABBA to mind, and give a pop aspect to the song which works well. This song again is a lot of fun to listen to, and its extended runtime working surprisingly to its advantage.

We Don’t Deserve Love is a somber yet pretty close to the album, with a simple electronic beat that sounds like a country song wonkily played on a synth. Somehow Arcade Fire makes that work. We do get some actual country guitar too, don’t worry. The lyrics are some of my favourites, “You don’t want to talk, “You don’t want to touch, You don’t even wanna watch TV ,You say I can’t see the forest for the trees, So burn it all down, and bring the ashes to me” stands out as one of the best, with the TV line encompassing a lot of the album’s core concept. This is one of my personal favourite tracks. Regine’s pop styled vocals on the chorus again work fantastically, and give a bittersweet tone to the song i really enjoy. My only criticism is it perhaps goes on too long, otherwise it is a great closing song to the album.

The true closer of Everything Now is a reprise of the interlude that opens the album, designed so that the record loops into itself. This also contains a beautiful string version of the title track’s chorus.

In Conclusion, I really love this album. It has such a fun engaging vibe to it that gives it a lot of replay value! Though there are few low points, they don’t ruin the album, or the songs they are a part of, every song here to me is good!

I think the hugely negative reaction to this record comes from the fact fans and critics wanted another Rock or alternative album from Arcade Fire, but were instead given a pop record.

To me at least, Everything Now is fantastic, and one of my favourite albums of 2017 so far. 

I Give it an 7/10.

FAVOURITE TRACKS – Electric Blue, Everything Now, We Don’t Deserve Love, Put Your Money On Me