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Switching It Up

I need to change something... I feel like I go through droughts of posting stuff, since it takes some time to write up an album or concert review, and I'm a pretty busy guy. I'm going to try and start posting more often, but shorter. Maybe just about a song that came out or something. We'll see how that works.

MGMT

Nobody should really expect MGMT to be profound or complex. I’ve heard a lot of people say that they aren’t good live, but I decided to decide for myself and scored seventh row center tickets to the show.

The band came out and opened with Flash Delirium, which in my opinion was easily one of the best tracks on this year’s album. As it was also the first single, it was relatively well received. The audience had been pretty quiet throughout the set of openers Violens, and leading off the set with a popular song, rather than one of the more abstract ones, really set the pace and got everyone on their feet. Staying true to character, they strayed from convention by playing “Destrokk” next, which I had never actually heard before. As it turns out, it’s a song from the Time to Pretend EP that came out way back in 2005, before I had ever heard of the band. While they played it well and I enjoyed it, I got the feeling that a lot of people were in my situation and didn’t recognize it. It may have killed the vibe a little. But they picked it right back up and started blazing through older hits like “Electric Feel,” “The Youth,” and “Time To Pretend,” as well as newer highlights “Brian Eno” and “Song For Dan Treacy.” The lights stayed pretty dim most of the show, with dark blue lights prevailing over most other colors. The cool, dark vibe was helped by the strange tie-dye and kaleidoscope-like designs flashing on the screens behind the band. After throwing in a seemingly-random cover of The Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner,” (Yeah, I haven’t heard of them either,) they finished strongly, although predictably, with “Kids.” As you may imagine, “Kids” got the best reaction, with the entire crowd dancing and jumping and singing along as loudly as possible. While the band had tried to stay straight-faced and serious for the majority of the show, they came out of their collective shell for this one. Laughing and jumping around and just having as much fun with it as possible, which I actually thought was a little strange. I would’ve thought that they would be sick of playing it, since it is their most popular song, and they seemed to stray away from making pop songs on the second album, like they didn’t want to be famous. Either way, it was definitely the highlight of the night. It almost felt unnecessary for them to come out for a subdued 3-song encore, ending the concert the same way they ended their new album, with “Congratulations.”

I wasn’t blown away, to be honest. But I didn’t want to be. I understand why people say that they are bad live, but I disagree. I think it’s all about perspective. But even though they take their music in new and very different directions than most popular bands, I still don’t think they are really all that complex. You go to let loose, get lost in the layers of their music, and just have fun. Dance your ass off. While the show wasn’t anything groundbreaking, it was still a great time, which is what you should expect from these guys.

Arcade Fire

So I went to see Arcade Fire lastnight. My first time seeing them.I don't know where to start. I'll lead off with my only complaint. They didn't play my favorite song on the new album, "Suburban War". (Full Setlist below.) But it really didn't matter, in the end.

The openers, Young Galaxy, were alright. Some songs were good, and I might check out their albums since it seemed like they'd be the kind of stuff that would sound better all mastered and whatnot.

Arcade Fire came out and played for a little over an hour and a half. The set was awesome (see videos below). I love their music, but didn't know too much about them, so it was surprising to see 8 people on stage, all switching instruments every song. Some members switched between violin-piano, or drums-guitar-keyboards. It was kind of awesome seeing how talented they all are, even though they seem like a pretty odd bunch of people. Especially Regine, who does this weird ballerina-robot dance the whole time, and although she sings great, when she tried to speak in between songs (introducing Sprawl II) she sounded like she was either coked out or half retarded.

Regardless, the most impressive thing, to me, was how much energy and passion they put into playing these songs. It's amazing how mellow you would think some of the songs are, particularly off of Funeral, but somehow they just go nuts and jump around and rock out playing them, without taking anything away from the song. With no audio, you'd think they were playing something more upbeat and hardcore-sounding the whole time. It was great to watch.

They opened with Ready To Start, which works really well as an opener, and warmed up the crowd well. What surprised me is how they stepped into high-gear right away with "Month of May" second, which is probably the fastest, most upbeat song that they have. They just absolutely destroyed it (in a good way). It was great live, and basically let everyone know that they weren't messing around, they were gonna give us a hell of a show. About two-thirds of the way through, after playing "Deep Blue", I thought it was funny that Win said "sorry for confusing you with all of these new songs", as if almost everyone there hadn't been listening to the album for the last week straight. We were all singing along to almost every song. Of the last 6 songs after that point, including the 2 in the encore, the only new one was "Half Light II" (which sounded great live). The other five were perfect, fan-favorite placements that had everyone going nuts the whole time. "Keep the Car Running" sounded particularly spectacular live, from a vocal standpoint, while the seamless transition from "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" into "Rebellion (Lies)" was really spine-tingling. And, while predictable, finishing with "Wake Up" just works perfectly, with everyone shouting the chorus at the top of their lungs. I think the only song that gave me chills to sing along with live more than "Wake Up" was "Hey Jude" when I saw Paul McCartney about a year ago at Fenway Park.

It was a great night. I go to a LOT of concerts, so it's rare that I see someone that I haven't seen before and they really blow me away, but last night was one of those nights. I will go see them live every single chance I get from here on out. I can't wait to watch the MSG show in a couple of days and relive the whole experience. Amazing.

Check out the stage set-up in this video. A "billboard" screen, streetlight post, and the back screen looked like they were under a highway overpass. Really went all out with the suburbs theme, but it was awesome. The video sums it up pretty well, even if the audio is a little off (i didnt take it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfXtf9-WlRs

Here are a couple of really good HD videos people took (you should click through and watch them big):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycSaZQZ0gHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU4-sOWqmQc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jPwAJ34_k

Setlist:

Ready to Start

Month of May

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

No Cars Go

Haiti

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

We Used to Wait

Intervention

Modern Man

The Suburbs

Deep Blue

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Rebellion (Lies)

Half Light II (No Celebration)

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

Encore:

Keep the Car Running

Wake Up

Kele - The Boxer

7.5/10

I was introduced to Bloc Party just a couple of years ago, and ended up really liking their stuff. I haven't listened to them in a while, though. This album, the lead singer's solo debut, didn't get too much hype or promotion (at least not that I saw) and I had a feeling it might end up being really great. Unfortunately, I didn't end up liking it all that much.

The album is 10 songs, about 45min long, and instantly much more electronic-sounding and slow-paced than a lot of Bloc Party's stuff. The synthy/electro vibe kind of reminded me of Thom Yorke's solo album, The Eraser, and how much more laid back and electronic that was than a lot of Radiohead stuff. But, as the album progressed, I ended up seeing the album as more of a bad attempt at being Kele's own Eraser album than something different and unique. Lyrically, there were too many songs with almost no verses. Several songs just had a repeating chorus, with the production seeming like the forefront, which didn't make sense to me since this is supposed to be the singer's solo album. With that said, I did really like a lot of the production. It was really catchy at points, and kept me moving along with the music. I just expected something more. Track 2, "On The Lam", has a great, catchy beat and chorus, but there are hardly any words outside of the chorus, which is really disappointing. The single, and third track, "Tenderoni", is also a good song and really catchy, except the part where they shout/spell out T-E-N-D-E-R-O-N-I, which is just incredibly lame and cheesy. My favorite track is Everything You Wanted, which falls right in the middle of the album. There are finally real verses with good lyrics. The main thing that stood out about the song, for me, was the emotion that was clearly behind it. You could feel the heart in the song, which I really liked. "All The Things I Could Never Say" is also really good, yet somehow helped to show me how weak the album was at points. The second to last track, it's the first one where I really felt like the production was secondary and helped to highlight the singing instead of the other way around. Overall, I just felt like it was a very mediocre/average album. There were definitely a few really strong tracks, but I just think it fell short as a whole. It is definitely still worth listening to, for anyone interested.

The Roots - How I Got Over

9/10

The Roots are one of my favorite groups. They started the “rap band”, which I don’t think I could ever thank them enough for. After all, live instrumentation is my absolute favorite type of hip-hop production. Nothing tops hearing drums, keys, guitars, and horns, instead of Timbaland-esque computer output. Needless to say, I was excited about this album when it was first announced over a year ago, I fought through the frustration of several delays, and after having listened to the album several times now, I can say that it was all worth it.

The Roots haven’t disappointed me with an album in a long time. I don’t think that they ever really have, but the last few have been especially strong. They seem to really fine tune their craft as time goes on. The album is a little on the shorter end, at about 43 minutes, so it’s important that just about every song delivers. Of the 14 tracks (including the bonus track) there are 11 songs, with the intro and 2 interludes. I love at least 7 of the 11, and don’t really dislike any. Production wise, as a mentioned before, you can’t go wrong with the Roots and their live instrument vibe. It’s jazzy and fresh. It keeps your head bobbing along the whole time. While I like the prominence of keyboards on the album, I do wish that there was more guitar. Kirk is a really great guitar player, and to not highlight that on the album is a missed opportunity, in my opinion. With how popular guitars have become on records recently, see Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and Eminem’s Recovery, I’m surprised the Roots didn’t feature more of it. Then again, maybe that’s why they didn’t. Either way, while I feel like the production was a little more toned down and smooth on this album than I would have liked to see, it worked really well for the album, flowed excellently from song to song, and sounded great throughout almost the entire album.

I say almost the entire album because there IS a slight hiccup. To me, the album should have ended after 12 tracks, with the interlude “Tunnel Vision” acting as an outro. The last two tracks, “Web 20/20” and the bonus “Hustla”, come out of nowhere and really disrupt the chill vibe. I don’t really understand how they fit in the bigger picture of the album. I think maybe that’s why they chose to put “Tunnel Vision” between them, almost as a divider. I know it may be picky of me, but had “Web 20/20” been labeled a Bonus Track, too, and “Tunnel Vision” treated as an outro, I would have a better feeling about the whole thing.

Lyrically, it’s not hard to believe that Black Thought kills every verse. He’s gotta be top 5 right now, and my only regret is that there isn’t more from him. The songs provide a really interesting mix of dark and uplifting lyrics. A lot of hope for what’s to come. It’s actually pretty motivation at times, without seeming forced or cheesy. Combine the content with the fact that he just really knows how to rhyme and has one of the most dominating flows in rap today.

The Roots have always been really feature-heavy, which, to me, has always been their worst quality. I don’t like albums with a ton of features, and it bothers me on this album just like it did on Rising Down. I don’t have problems with chorus features, so Monsters of Folk, John Legend, Joanna Newsom, Dice Raw, and Patty Crash are all fine. My issue is with having too many rapper features. Blu and Phonte are on two songs each, one together, and I think they both are great on the album. Maybe they should only have one verse on the album instead of two, but I can overlook it because of how much I like the two of them. Truck North, P.O.R.N, and STS, I’m looking at you guys. The first song, “Walk Alone”, is my least favorite, if only because we don’t actually hear Black Thought until the third verse of the album. Poor planning, in my opinion. There’s a combined 6 verses on the album where Black Thought could have continued to be Black Thought. Why are these guys on half of the album? I just don’t get it.

With all that said, it’s much easier to discuss the albums weak points than its strong points. Like I noted, the production is smooth and fresh and Black Thought kills it in both a lyrical and technical sense. Make sure to check out tracks “Dear God 2.0”, “How I Got Over”, “The Day”, “Doin’ It Again”, and “The Fire”. And yes, I really can’t narrow it down under five favorites, they are all so good. It is easily in the top 3 hip-hop releases of the year (so far), for me. The Roots deserve every sale they make, and every ounce of credit they get for this one. While it would be almost impossible for them to outsell Eminem opening week, it would be great to see them make a strong showing. I hope people go out and support good music.

Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

10/10

Album of the year (so far). Hands down. No competition.

There really isn't much I can say about the album that my friend Tom hasn't already. His review is nearly perfect, and a great read. Check that out at http://thehouseofcoxhead.tumblr.com/post/579577423/nas-damian-marley-distant-relatives

All I can say is that I didn't know people could still make music like this. It's so well put together. The production is complex yet catchy, and fits each song perfectly. The lyrics are so well thought out, with almost no forced lines or pop culture references. It's really the type of album that will always be relevant, and that I will listen to forever.

This album also marks the first time I've ever actually enjoyed a Lil Wayne verse. I didn't think it was possible.

MGMT - Congratulations

8.5/10

This album was definitely a grower. It took at least 5 or 6 listens before I was really able to get into every track. Abstract albums like this generally seem to be that way. After the surprise commercial success of their last album, Oracular Spectacular, MGMT went in the opposite direction that everyone expected them to. There are no tracks on the new album anywhere near as catchy and poppy as Kids or Electric Feel. While this might be a little disappointing, I still really like the album. It's not supposed to be catchy and mainstream. The band specifically didn't want to release singles to encourage people to listen to the full album rather than just a couple of songs. As someone who never puts his iPod on shuffle, and really values the "full album" experience, I loved this about them. Sure they could have taken the easy way out and made a few more Kids-esque songs without much thought and made a ton of money. But they really care about the music and didn't want to do that. Instead, they made an abstract, more psychadelic album with no real standout singles or catchy choruses. Sure it made it a little hard to get into, but it was worth it. I think it's a great album.

The songs all flow together really well, regardless of how different they are. It shows how serious they were about stressing the album as one big work of art rather than just a collection of songs. While I do like a lot of the lyrics, most of them aren't particularly noteworthy. They aren't bad by any means, they just don't stand out. The real treat is the music: the guitars, the drums, the synths. They're great. The way that the 12-minute Siberian Breaks can totally captivate you, and transition between 3 different sections, is a testment to this. It's hard to keep someone's attention for the entirety of a 12-minute song. Lady Dada's Nightmare is an instrumental, and I think one of the best tracks on the album. It's so much darker than anything I've ever heard from MGMT, but I think it worked really well. And to transition that into one of the brightest, happiest songs on the album, Congratulations, seems difficult, but they make it look easy.

I guess I do miss the catchy, irresistable songs from the last album, but at the same time I also love it when artists try something totally different and succeed. While I know this album won't have the same replay value or lasting qualities of the first, I think its more consistent as a whole. They definitely succeeded in creating one large body of work. I can't even bring myself to pick a favorite track. They are all really good in different ways. I suppose I would go with "Brian Eno" and "Congratulations", but to say that those 2 are "better" than the others would be unfair.

Murs & 9th Wonder - Fornever

7.5/10

I never really got into Murs. Some people absolutely love the guy, but outside of Felt, I just never really cared for him. He’s very average, and talks like he’s the greatest rapper ever. His last solo release, Murs For President, had a couple of good songs, but was overall forgettable, and I feel the same way about this release.

The music is good. Murs is a good rapper, he just doesn’t stand out to me as being any different than a number of other random average rappers. He needs some sort of extra flair to separate himself from the rest, and I haven’t seen that from him yet. He does alright on this album, nothing sounds forced. He’s always been good about sounding smooth and confident in every line. In an album as short as this one, if you are going to have features, they better be worth it. But they aren’t worth it in this case. A few no-name rappers have guest spots. They’re not horrible or anything, I just don’t think they add to the album at all. “Asian Girl” is a really fun song. I’m not into Asian girls at all, but this song had me smiling and bobbing my head along with it. It’s clever and just enjoyable in general. I also really liked the story-telling style songs like “Vikki Veil” and “West Coast Cinderella”. I’m kind of torn on what to think about “I Used to Luv H.E.R. (Again)”. The original is one of my favorite hip hop songs ever, nevermind one of my favorite Common songs. They do it justice, and it works, but at the same time, I felt like it was the equivalent of a band putting a cover of “Stairway To Heaven” on their album. It just doesn’t seem right to cover it. On the flip side, “Cigarettes and Liquor” is awful. Just bad. The concept has been done over and over, and its more annoying/lame at this point than fun/interesting.

What really saves the album for me, and sets it a step above Murs For President, is 9th Wonder. The production on the album is great. All of the beats are really well done, polished, smooth, catchy, etc. You can’t help but tap your feet or bob your head. I just kinda wish there was a better rapper on them.

Here are "Vikki Veil" and "West Coast Cinderella":

Vikki Veil

http://www.zshare.net/audio/758599997b36746c/

West Coast Cinderella

http://www.zshare.net/audio/758600411b2644e1/

B.o.B - The Adventures of Bobby Ray

8.5/10

B.o.B has been pretty hyped over the last year or so, yet I didn't know a damn thing about him until about a month ago. It was when I went to the Lupe Fiasco show at the House of Blues on April 7th, and B.o.B opened. I knew people had been talking about him for a while, so I made sure I showed up to see his set, wanting to give him a chance. I was blown away. I think I liked him more than Lupe; they were both great live. I was expecting a rapper, and got a musician. I've been to a hell of a lot of rap shows, and never have I seen a rapper play guitar on stage. I was instantly impressed. His style is just so different from anything else that's out there. I went home from that show and downloaded everything I could find, waiting anxiously for the album to drop.

Which brings us to where we are now. I loved this album. I think I would have liked it even more if the majority of the tracks hadn't leaked over the 2 weeks leading up to the release. And the demos, not even the mastered tracks. It's really unfortunate when something like that happens to an album. But it is what it is. The album has something for everyone, rapping, singing, beats that really bump, and acoustic guitar tracks. The thing that I was most impressed with is the ability to have such a unique style while still having catchy songs. It's nearly impossible to sit/stand still while listening to any of the songs on the album. Also, I was impressed by the way that the different styles transition so well into each other (see: Bet I > Ghost in the Machine).

I was impartial in that I like the more rock-based songs much more than tracks like "Bet I". Personal favorites would include "Ghost in the Machine", "Lovelier Than You", and "Airplanes Pt. 2". "Past My Shades" is probably the most infectiously catchy song on the album. Love that one as far as the less-rock/more-rap songs go. Also, do not forget the bonus tracks. There are 4 total, different songs for different retailers I guess. While "I See Ya" and "Higher" didn't really seem that special to me, "Letter to Vietnam", "Satellite", and "Don't Wake Me Up" are all necessities. B.o.B isn't the most advanced lyricist in the world, but that's not really what the music is about. It's about simple everyday concepts that people can relate to, and about having fun. I can't wait for it to be nicer outside so I can just drive around and play this loud, windows down.

Check out 2 of my favorites, "Ghost in the Machine" and "Past My Shades", below:

Ghost in the Machine

http://www.zshare.net/audio/758597818e02b966/

Past My Shades

http://www.zshare.net/audio/758598355dba3fdb/

New Jack Johnson and Gaslight Anthem Singles

The first single from Jack Johnson's sixth studio album, To The Sea, out June 1st, just came out, and is called "You And Your Heart." It's pretty awesome, so check it out:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/7486352146bfa0c7/

Also, here is the album cover and single cover (click for larger):

One of my new (in the last year or two) favorite bands, The Gaslight Anthem, also released a new single, from their forthcoming third album, American Slang, out on 6/15. The song is also called "American Slang," and is also awesome. Here's the song and album cover:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/7486378895bb4f6d/

Vampire Weekend

My sister and I went and saw one of my new favorite bands last night (in Boston) at the Orpheum. SO good live. The music is just so fun and lively and it totally translates to the crowd. Everyone's just dancing and having a great time. They play really well live, and you can tell they have a lot of fun playing. Ezra talked quite a bit and was actually a really funny guy. They talked about how much they like Boston, partly why they have 3 Massachusetts-based songs on their debut album, all 3 of which were played. Apparently they don't usually play all 3. At least not "Ladies of Cambridge", which is technically a bonus track. Conveniently enough it's one of my favorite VW songs (at least top 3) so I was really really happy that they played it.

Also, to make the show even better, I upgraded my tickets at no extra cost last minute. The show had sold out in like an hour or something when it went on sale several months ago, and I managed to barely get tickets, last row on the lower level. I was a little disappointed, but figured it was better than the balcony. So last night, about an hour before we left, this family friend who owns a ticket agency calls me and offered me 7th row seats at face value, so I took them and put my crappy seats on craigslist at face value, got a call within 5 minutes, and met a kid at the venue. So it was amazing! I brought my camera, which I rarely do at concerts, and got a few good ones... check them out (click to view full size):

Been a While

So I haven't posted in almost 3 months... I've been busy with work and stuff, and just haven't had too much time to write up stuff. Just to catch up on 2010 so far, this is my current running list of albums, a quarter of the way through the year:

1. MGMT - Congratulations
2. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
3. Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring
4. Vampire Weekend - Contra
5. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
6. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
7. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
8. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
9. Spoon - Transference
10. Flobots - Survival Story
-----------------------------------------------------
11. RjD2 - The Colossus
12. Meth Rae Ghost - Wu-Massacre

The order is VERY subject to change... maybe I'll go back and write up reviews on a couple of them if I have time. The only album I've listened to that isn't yet placed is "Go" by Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi. (Both Sigur Ros and Jonsi have crazy Icelandic accent marks on some of the letters, but I don't care enough to figure out how to do that.) It's hard to rank an album like that because it's just SO different from everything else that I listen to. In general, 2010 has been really consistent, musically. There hasn't been an album that really blew me out of the water the way Merriweather Post Pavilion did, but there have been so many really solid 8.5 to 9 /10 albums, in my opinion. I don't like to officially assign scores out of 10 until further into the year, but right now I'd say that everything in the top 10 is at least an 8.5/10, with the top 6 being at least a 9/10. I'm really excited to see how the rest of the year turns out.

As far as upcoming albums that I can't wait for, we have a few leading that pack. And I'm just talking about 100% announced and confirmed albums, Detox doesn't count, nor does Kanye's new album, although I am pretty sure the latter will be out by the end of the year. Anyways, I really can't wait for these 4 albums:

- Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute (out 5/18)

- Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives (out 5/18?)

- Jack Johnson - To The Sea (out 6/1)

- The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang (out 6/15)

My Favorite Albums of 2009

Finally... all done, and confident in my list. I think this is the first time since I've been making these (so like 4 or 5 years) that there is not one single hip-hop album in my top 10. But 11, 12, 13, and 15 are all hip-hop, so they came pretty close. Overall, I thought 2009 started out with a dull outlook as far as music, but I now think it was one of the best years, musically, of my adult life. I listened to 60 new albums that came out this year, and don't regret a single one. Albums in the 30s on my list are albums I really liked and continue to listen to, which is more than I can say about most albums in the 20s on last year's list. I can only hope 2010 can come close to matching it. Feel free to leave comments with thoughts and questions. I'd love to discuss my thoughts.

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion 10/10

2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix 9.5/10

3. Phish - Joy 9/10

4. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug 9/10

5. John Mayer - Battle Studies 8.5/10

6. Frank Turner – Poetry of the Deed 9/10

7. Pearl Jam - Backspacer 9/10

8. John Frusciante - The Empyrean 9/10

9. Brand New - Daisy 9/10

10. Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey & the Groogrux King 8.5/10

---------------------------------------------------------------

11. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II 9/10

Mos Def - The Ecstatic 8.5/10

Brother Ali - Us 9/10

Girls – Album 9/10

Eminem - Relapse 8.5/10

Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown 8.5/10

Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream 8.5/10

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 8/10

Wale - Attention: Deficit 8/10

20. Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon: The End Of Day 8/10

State Radio - Let It Go 8.5/10

Billy Boy on Poison - Drama Junkie Queen 8.5/10

Eyedea & Abilities - By The Throat 8.5/10

Rx Bandits - Mandala 8.5/10

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! 8.5/10

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca 9/10

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die 8.5/10

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest 8.5/10

Passion Pit - Manners 8/10

30. K-Os - Yes! 8.5/10

Chester French - Love the Future 8.5/10

Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez 8/10

Doom - Born Like This 8/10

Asher Roth - Asleep in the Bread Aisle 8.5/10

U2 - No Line on the Horizon 8/10

Blakroc – Blakroc 8/10

K'Naan - Troubadour 8/10

Yusuf (aka Cat Stevens) - Roadsinger 8.5/10

Gift of Gab - Escape to Mars 8/10

40. Clipse - Till The Casket Drops 8/10

The Flaming Lips – Embryonic 8/10

MSTRKRFT - Fist of God 8/10

Discovery – LP 8/10

The XX – XX 8/10

Bat For Lashes - Two Suns 8/10

Third Eye Blind - Ursa Major 7/10

Method Man & Redman - Blackout! 2 8/10

Chali 2na - Fish Outta Water 8/10

Buju Banton - Rasta Got Soul 7.5/10

50. Matisyahu – Light 7.5/10

Monty Are I - Break Through The Silence 7.5/10

The Fray - The Fray 8/10

Taking Back Sunday - New Again 7.5/10

P.O.S. - Never Better 8/10

Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today 8/10

CunninLynguists - Strange Journey Vol 1 8/10

311 - Uplifter 7.5/10

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 8/10

Ben Kweller - Changing Horses 8/10

60. Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing 7.5/10