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/

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

Brother Ali - Us

9/10

This guy just gets better and better. The only albino rapper I know of, Brother Ali is one of the underrated stars of Rhymesayers, my favorite hiphop label ever. This album, like his last, was produced completely by Ant of Atmosphere, who I've already expressed my love for in the Felt 3 review. The production is great. I really really hope some of this style carries over into the next Atmosphere album, and I could even see a little of it on the last Atmosphere album. I love rap production that utilizes real instruments instead of just computers. The first few tracks, and many more throughout the album, are packed with awesome guitar riffs and horn sections that really blow me away. Amazing production on some of those songs. The only song I didn't like the production on was "Breakin' Dawn", but with that said, it matched the topic of the song really well.

Ali is on fire, lyrically, just murdering every track on the album. Some tracks he's doing a little bragging, as he should be, about his rise to underground fame and things like that. There aren't too many of them to the point where you get sick of them, though. My personal favorite is the first song, "The Preacher". Others, though, he really shines as one of the better story-tellers I've heard in years. My two personal favorite story-telling songs on this album are "House Keys" and "Tight Rope". Another track, "The Travelers", is about slavery, which is a really hard topic to cover well and fairly, and Ali knows just how to do it.

I only have a few complaints about the album. I think it's a little bit too long. Actually, it's not even necessarily too long, it's just not even. The first half, for me, was way better than the second half, and so it seemed to drag a little towards the end. This wasn't helped by "Best@it", one of only 2 tracks I didn't really like, being near the end. The song features Freeway and Joell Ortiz, both of whom I don't care for. And in an album with no other features, I was just left wondering why this song was there. The positives FAR outway the negatives, though, and this album lands very very close (but sadly not in) my top 10 albums of the year. (The full list will be posted at the end of the year... I still have about 10 albums to listen to.)

I'm going to break my usual format here and post 3 tracks instead of 2, just because I can't choose between the 2 story-telling tracks I mentioned earlier. So here you go:

The Preacher

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6955779395730dce/

House Keys

http://www.zshare.net/audio/695578174f760c8a/

Tight Rope

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69557844b569b7fa/

John Mayer - Battle Studies

8.5/10

Damn. Just when I was starting to doubt him, he drops this album and does it again. Battle Studies is John Mayer's 5th album, and I'd probably say its his second best, maybe third. Sorry, but I don't see anything beating out Continuum, it was just too perfect. He went for a more mellow vibe on this album, which I was skeptical about at first, but it ended up really working well.

The album is trimmed down perfectly. At 11 tracks, 46 minutes, you get your fix and then it's over before you get bored. Lyrically, John still knows how to write some great songs. I love the whole war theme in "Battle Studies", with tracks like "Heartbreak Warfare", "War of my Life", and "Assassin". He said he was going for a Tom Petty style approach to the music, and wanted to make something that would last forever, and I really think he did. Instrumentally, he's still one of the best guitarists alive right now, although he doesn't show it quite as often as I would've liked. As I mentioned in my album preview on here a few weeks ago, I really wanted more upbeat fast songs that would set up crazy guitar solos, but that didn't happen. There are a few short solos, which do enough to show that he's still got it, but really leaves me wanting more. I can't wait to see what he will do with these songs live. The only other letdown, for me, was "Crossroads". I thought for sure that a John Mayer cover of a classic Cream song (actually a Robert Johnson song that Eric Clapton/Cream decided to cover) would be amazing. But it was kind of awkward. The Cream version of the song is already basically perfect, so I didn't think it could be better, I just wanted it to be different. I wanted to see what John could do with it, and it was kind of boring. It sounded overly synthy and weird. Oh well, can't win them all. So even with the flaws, I think the album really flowed, and after giving it a few listens to grow on me, I couldn't put it down for weeks. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the year.

Listen to my 2 favorite songs, "Perfectly Lonely" and "Assassin" here:

(Also don't forget that I posted "Who Says" and "Heartbreak Warfare" back in the album preview post)

Perfectly Lonely

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69506948f856abe3/

Assassin

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69506986f636c9bc/

Felt 3 - A Tribute to Rosie Perez

8/10

"Them Felt boys are back." I don't know if I've ever said this on here, but my absolute #1 favorite hip-hop group is Atmosphere, Slug (the rapper) and Ant (the producer). Felt takes Slug and pairs him with Murs, who is also pretty dope, although I never got into his solo stuff or Living Legends stuff. They have a different producer do each album, and make it a tribute to some sort of fallen star actress. So here we have Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez, produced by Aesop Rock.

As far as Felt goes, in general, I just love the way that Slug and Murs seem to bounce off of each other. It's never really formulaic, like Slug Verse, Chorus, Murs Verse, Chorus. They go back and forth, and I love that. (It's what makes me excited for the Nas & Damian Marley album, Distant Relatives.) They're both great rappers, and they continue to show it here. Felt seems like a fun sort of release for Slug. A lot of the Atmosphere stuff is a little more serious and toned down, and Felt is where he can just have fun and say whatever he wants. It's really cool to hear another side of him. The production on the album is where it falls short, believe it or not. I really like Aesop Rock, he's a cool guy who does his own weird style of rap and pulls it off pretty well. And as much as I think a lot of the songs on the album are well-produced, they don't fit Slug and Murs. There are several points in the album where it sounded like the guys' flows didn't match the beats at all. It was like they didn't really know how to rap over some of the stuff that Aes gave them. Some of the songs sound great, and they match up well, but there's just those few that don't work. And it's not like they couldn't have cut them out. The album is a little too long for me, going just over an hour. I think cutting it down to 45-50 minutes would've really helped the flow. Personally, Felt 2 was my favorite, but that's really just because Ant (the other half of Atmosphere) produced the whole thing. Still, it's a good album, and definitely worth listening to.

Check out 2 of my favorites, the first single, "Protagonists", and "Henrietta Longbottom"

Protagonists

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6950634044f3d1f9/

Henrietta Longbottom

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69506369ce176f17/

Brand New - Daisy

9/10

This one took a while. It came out way back on 9/22, and I didn't feel right reviewing it until now. I really didn't like it all that much at first. Not that I thought it was bad, it just wasn't what I was expecting and it's not the type of music I usually listen to. Brand New is actually the only band I can tolerate with any sort of screaming. Anyways, after I got over the more heavy vibe and screaming on the album, it really grew on me. It's just the right length, not too long and not too short, and each song is really there for a reason. The tracklist was made perfectly, and the album flows really well. As a matter of fact, I think one of my favorite things about the album is the fact that it's so cohesive. The intro and outro clips are old, creepy music, and there are a few portions in the middle of the album, such as the beginning of the title track, daisy, that have the same type of clips. There is a really creepy feeling to the album, and I actually really love it. Instrumentally, it's Brand New. It's a little more intense and hardcore than their previous albums, and while it's not extremely intricate or anything, there are a lot of layers and pretty awesome riffs on the songs. Something that I still don't know how I feel about is the songwriting. The guitarist, Vin, took over lead songwriting duties on this one for the first time. While I don't think that he is nearly as talented of a songwriter as Jesse Lacey, I do think it gave a nice change to the usual Brand New songs. Kind of a breath of fresh air. The album just really clicks. There's not a single change I would make. I read something a while back where Jesse said that they were afraid the album might sound weird because they wrote the songs based on how they would sound live, which is hard to carry over to studio tracks. Well it worked. Everything sounds great.

I posted my two favorite tracks, "Daisy" and "Sink" below:

Sink

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69488866b653b8eb/

Daisy

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69488936109a893a/

Wale - Attention: Deficit

8/10

Great debut album. Almost better than Kid Cudi's, in my opinion. Cudi has one spot up on him on my list right now, and really it's only because he went and made an album with a style I've never heard anywhere before. But, back to Wale, this album is killer. I kind of expected less of him, to be honest. The dude's been putting out mixtapes like he has nothing better to do, and that material was really good (see: The Mixtape About Nothing), so I couldn't see him having anything left for the album, but I was wrong.

I wouldn't put it on the same level as something from Atmosphere or Mos Def, but it's not supposed to be as serious and conscious as those albums. It's just a good, mainstream rap album. With that said, its a little less mainstream than your everyday 50 Cent crap. (I'm not even listening to Before I Self Destruct, nevermind wasting time writing about it.) The production on the album is good, some songs better than others, particularly the two that Cool & Dre did. Lyrically, you have to listen to the album a couple times to be able to pick up on all of the great lines. My personal favorite, at the end of a verse in "TV in the Radio", goes "fat rhymes everytime, bitch, Roseanna Barrs". I mean, c'mon, that's amazing. Besides the fact that anyone under 20 probably doesn't know who Roseanne Barr is. The content isn't all fun and games, there are some more serious songs, like "Contemplate" and "Diary", which are also great. There are some good features, like K'Naan, J.Cole, and Pharrell, which significantly outway the bad, particularly Gucci Mane. Wale really proved himself to me with this one. You can tell he couldn't be happier with doing what he's doing. And he does it really well.

Check out these links to my favorite track on the album, "World Tour", and "Contemplate":

World Tour (ft. Jazmine Sullivan)

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69482839c9d4c24d/

Contemplate

http://www.zshare.net/audio/694828899a72b81f/

Phish - Joy

9/10

Wow. I really didn't expect to like this album as much as I did. I had the wrong idea about Phish. I always pictured them as being a dirty hippie band with long, disjointed jam sequences. Turns out I love them. "Joy" is their 14th studio album (first in 5 years), and I had never listened to any of the earlier stuff, but now I can't wait to. The music is so much more pleasant and melodic than I thought it would be. It's really catchy, but also really well written, well sung, and well played. There are solos and instrumental bridges, but nothing to drawn out. Everything works. It's almost perfect. Slower songs like "Joy" aren't too slow to bore you to death, but slow enough to provide a nice change of pace. I can't say enough about how catchy, but good, the music is. I always feel like catchy songs sacrifice quality; generally the lyrics aren't as thoughtful or meaningful. But that is definitely not the case here. It's also very rare that bands with great songwriting have great instrumentals, including some really great guitar solos. These guys are just so much more talented than I ever gave them credit for. The only song that does go a little too long is "Time Turns Elastic", which kind of loses me halfway through. The album is a little bit short, too, which is ironic for a band known for epic 3+ hour live shows.

Regardless, it's great, and definitely worth a listen. Check out the tracks "Backwards Down the Number Line" and "Joy", and let me know what you think.

Backwards Down the Number Line

http://www.zshare.net/audio/694867506d0cd1aa/

Joy

http://www.zshare.net/audio/69486766d3ff3c6d/

State Radio - Let It Go

8.5/10

State Radio is a Boston-based band featuring Chad Urmston (of Dispatch fame). This is their third studio album, and I just don't think they can ever live up to how much I loved the first, "Us Against the Crown". They're really political for the most part, although they do seem to stray a little more away from that in this album than in the other two, probably because of the way things seem to be turning around. The band does a ton for charity and did a ton of work campaigning for Obama. Anyways, the album is really solid. Like I said, I think its better than their second album, but not as good as the first. Its not too short or too long, and they still have this great mix of reggae/ska/rock going on. Too many bands ditch their reggae/ska influences when they are trying to make it big, and these guys are just always going to stick to their roots, which I love. Sure there are a couple of filler tracks, but most of them really made an impression. I'm hoping it grows on me a little bit. I've only listened twice as of right now. Good stuff.

The album was released 9/29, and is actually streaming free right now on www.myspace.com/stateradio . If you are even remotely interested, you should listen to "Arsenic and Clover" and/or "Doctor Ron the Actor." I've posted both below, so you can listen easily. So check them out and let me know what you think.

Arsenic & Clover
http://www.zshare.net/audio/69486826a03677d4/

Doctor Ron the Actor
http://www.zshare.net/audio/69486854fd5d1366/

More Album Reviews

Jedi Mind Tricks - A History of Violence 8.5/10
Brand new album from JMT that marks the return of Jus Allah to the group after a 3 album absence. The production was awesome. Usually I'm the one saying that production only hurts a record if it becomes distractingly bad, but this album is proof that great production can also really strengthen an album. Really complex beats with samples and a lot of strings, coming from DJ Stoupe, and sometimes accompanying scratches by DJ Kwestion. Vinnie Paz sounded great on the album. Lots of passion, great rhyming, and some serious topics. It was good to hear Jus Allah back, but his verses were actually forgettable, for the most part. Although I feel he is still important to the group for balance purposes. My only problem is that the best songs are the first, "Deathbed Doctrine", and last, "Death Messiah". While I enjoyed everything in between, I think the flow of the album could have been better. Great album though, definitely glad I checked it out.

88-Keys - The Death of Adam 8.5/10
At first I didn't like the album. But after I was done listening to it, I thought about it for 10 or 15 minutes and realized the genius. I hadn't just listened to an album, I had just listened to a movie. I initially thought the narration between songs was lame, but now I realize how important it was to the story. The beats were very well produced, which was kind of the meat of the album, I think. The lyrics/verses/guest appearances were all good, but nothing special. They did their part to tell a piece of the story. But rather than think of it as an album, like I did originally, you have to think of it as an audio movie. I can honestly see a real movie play before me as I listen to it. You know the whole plot and each scene and even some of the dialogue, and could elaborate from there. Someone should make this movie; it would either be great or terrible. So I'd say its a decent album, musically, but the ingenuity, creativity, and pure genius behind the concept really make it special. I'd love to see something like this about a more serious topic.

The Killers - Day & Age 9/10
Okay. I'm two listens deep, and to be honest I think I need more. But I'll give it a shot anyways. I had slightly different expectations going in, so the first listen threw me off-balance which is why I needed to go back. I was surprised to not hear any Guitar Hero worthy anthems like "When You Were Young". I was expecting the album to be more loud and dance-inducing. However, I didn't hold that against it. I went back and re-listened, knowing what I was getting into, and it resulted in a more enjoyable experience, not to say that the first listen wasn't. The songs are great, both instrumentally and lyrically. Brandon's voice sounds more crisp and clear than it has on any previous work. I think the "experimental" tracks where they tried to do something completely different, like "Joy Ride" and "This Is Your Life", sound a little out of place at first, but I liked them even more the second time around. I think the album is going to really grow on me and I'll end up loving it more than I do now. The only tracks that I don't really feel at the moment are "Dustland Fairytale" and "I Can't Stay". I feel like the most powerful tracks are the first 4 and the last (10th), leaving you wanting a little more "umph" in the middle, even though I love middle tracks like "Neon Tiger" and "This Is Your Life". The bonus tracks, "A Crippling Blow" and "Forget About What I Said", seem to be the louder more anthem-sounding tracks that I was looking for in the album, leaving me unsure of why they didn't want to include them. Overall, the shortcomings are little compared to the quality of all the positives. I had trouble choosing between an 8.5 and 9, but I can tell that this is the type of album that gets better with each listen, so I went for the higher of the two.

Some Album Reviews

After more than 2 weeks of listening to the same old crap on my iPod and becoming bored with it all, I finally downloaded a ton of new music, some old, some brand new.

Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman 9.5/10
I love Cat Stevens, but only ever had his greatest hits album. This album, which propelled him to fame in 1970, is supposedly his best, so I wanted to try it out. Coincidentally enough, 5 out of the 11 tracks appear on his greatest hits compilation, and after listening to the album, I don't know where the other 6 fell short. He was one hell of a folk singer. While I wouldn't say he is "better" than Bob Dylan, I can admit that I prefer him. (Voice is better, lyrics aren't). The album is all about living in the world, but disregarding everyday concepts and ideas in search of a more spiritual fulfillment. It's beautiful. "Father and Son" is one of my favorite songs of all time... I've heard it at least a hundred times and yet it still gives me chills. My only complaint is that its awfully short, at 36min, which may have been normal in 1970, I'm not sure. The two tracks that are barely over a minute long each leave you wanting so much more out of them, and had they been longer and on the same level as the rest of the album, it would be perfect (to me).

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing: The Very Best Of 8/10
Greatest hits albums are supposed to be great (obviously). I feel like they should be 10/10s or else they aren't really doing their job. They need to include the best songs by the artist, but try and make them seem cohesive rather than just a collection of songs. I had never listened to Dire Straights before, but this album did all those things. They were good songs, and the flow of the collection worked really well for me. The reason I give it an 8 is because I just don't think Dire Straights are all that special. I really liked listening to them. Mark Knopfler's voice sounds kind of in between Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, to me, which I liked, and the instrumentation was cool and laid back but not too simple. They were good, just not great. They didn't stand out to me as a band that's any different from all the rest. Some greatest hits albums leave me wanting more so I go out and get the artist's actual albums (see: Cat Stevens, Steve Miller Band), but this one, while it was a good album and I'll listen to it again, didn't make me feel that way. I feel like the 16 tracks are all the Dire Straights that I will ever need. I guess this review turned more into an artist review than an album review, but maybe that's what a greatest hits album review really is.

Q-Tip - The Renaissance 8.5/10
I'm impressed. I didn't think he still had it in him, seeing as it's been 6 years since he officially released anything. I didn't expect this album to be good when I heard about it, but was still going to give it a shot. Positive reviews started pouring in and I began to wonder if it was really a good album. It is. As an album, its so complete, even though its just a little bit short for my liking. The songs work together well and couldn't be in a better order. Start to finish, it's kind of like taking a trip. I really enjoyed it. The beats, all produced by Q-Tip himself except one by Dilla, are fresh-sounding, not too-synthy and "new school" but not too old where you think its ATCQ. I've always been a fan of his unconventional voice and delivery, and they work well here, with some great lyrics on several songs as well. My only issue is that I don't know if the album has any replay value. While it sounds really great as a whole, I can't think of any tracks that stick out as catchy, possible singles, except for Gettin Up, which was the lead single. It's the same problem I had with Oasis' "Dig Out Your Soul". As an album, it sounds great, I just wish there were more catchy stand-out tracks.

Jay-Z vs. Coldplay - Viva La Hova (Mixtape) 7/10
I had to listen to this twice before I could really say anything about it. It's basically the same as all other Jay-Z mash-up projects (besides The Grey Album). There are some tracks that sound amazing, and some that are too forced and sound weird. It's what I expected. I really don't like tracks that just loop 10 seconds of a Coldplay songs or chop it up so that it is almost unrecognizable. Why does "No Love Coming Home" has someone that isnt Chris Martin singing the chorus from Homecoming? "Science is Ignorant" would be amazing if they could get the chorus to actually sound like Chris Martin; it's extremely frustrating. But on the other hand, when they find a Jay verse that works perfectly over a longer Coldplay instrumental with limited tempo changes and chopping, it comes out sounding so good. Unfortunately, the majority of the songs don't sound as good as I wish they did. Lost+ and Beach Chair, the two official collaborations between Coldplay and Jay, are the best tracks, which is unfortunate. But the other good tracks, like "Take the Hill", sound awesome, and almost make up for the bad ones.

The Roots

One of my favorite groups has always been The Roots, simply because they transcend genres. They are such a great hip-hop group, with Black Thought being, in my opinion, one of the best rappers out there, and at the same time they are a fun band to listen to, with a great horn section. The first time I saw them live ranks in my top 5 concerts that I've been to. So over the last two days, I listened through their entire discography, a lot of which I had never heard before, and wrote more mini-reviews on each album.

The Roots - Organix (1993) 7.5/10
The little-known, often forgotten, indie label debut from The Roots. I really didnt know what to expect going in, since I know the Roots have changed as a group so much since the beginning. It was a good album, though; especially for a debut. Its soulful and jazzy, not to mention I'm a sucker for "real" instrumentation on hip hop tracks (as opposed to computer-produced beats). Lyrically, Black Thought isn't quite as good as he is now, but still sounds great and is still better than most people out there. Even ?uestlove raps on a couple of tracks, which I wasn't expecting at all. My only problem was the it seems to drag a little and becomes kind of repetitive. Nothing really pops out at you and it just kind of keeps the same tone throughout instead of mixing it up.

The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995) 8/10
This was a little better than "Organix". They obviously had better production because they were signed to a major label and it shows. Everything sounds cleaner and more fine-tuned. Black Thought is evolving as an artist and songwriter. It just sounds like a more complete album. Also, Rahzel was a member of The Roots at the time, and he adds that extra pop that I mentioned "Organix" not having. Overall, a solid album, some good tracks, but nothing really memorable.

The Roots - Illadelph Halflife (1996) 8.5/10
This is the first album I recognized a song or two on. While many people regard it as one of the best, if not the best, albums from The Roots, I didn't really see it being too special. It's really just the first album by The Roots that we know today. Almost like the first two albums were warm-ups. It's got a much more commercial sound with R&B hooks and whatnot. Some tracks, this works really well on, but on a lot of them it just makes them seem fake. It doesnt have the chill jam-band feeling of the previous 2 albums. So while its overall a much better album with some great tracks and a great new direction, the fact that they lost the sound of being an "indie band", for the lack of a better term.

The Roots - Things Fall Apart (1999) 9.5/10
One of the best. Its like they took "Illadelph Halflife" and perfected it. They somehow find a happy medium between sounding commercial and sounding like a band. It goes back to being funky and cool and jazzy, but keeps the upbeat mainstream sound that makes it fun. There are several memorable tracks, obviously including "You Got Me" ft. Erykah Badu, which won a Grammy. Other great guest spots by Common and Mos Def help round out the album. Its just so good. My only complaint is that it runs long, at just over 70min, and I can see where cutting out a couple of tracks would've made the album perfect.

The Roots - Phrenology (2002) 9/10
My favorite Roots album. Its the perfect length, and is basically more of the all-around complete greatness that was captured on "Things Fall Apart". 2 Kweli features are both awesome. The flow and feeling of the album is a little more well-rounded and complete than "Things Fall Apart". I think the only thing I didn't like was that it wasnt really anything new. They didnt really grow between albums at all, and as much as they didn't have to because both of these albums are amazing, I like to see artists try new things. Great album though... I really love it.

The Roots - The Tipping Point (2004) 8/10
Underrated. I feel like nobody ever talks about this album, and its pretty good. With that said, its not nearly as good as "Things Fall Apart" or "Phrenology". It sounds a lot more mainstream, which in this case isn't really a good thing. It sounds like they tried to preserve that groovy Roots feel and it just didn't work out that well. It's also too short for me. The production sounds good for a mainstream rap album, but bad for a Roots album. The rapping is on point stylistically, but content-wise I wish it were stronger. Its a good album, and actually the first Roots album I ever heard in full, back when it came out 4 years ago.

The Roots - Game Theory (2006) 8/10
I forgot about this album. I really like it, even though its not "classic" material or anything. It's really serious and to the point, covering some deep/heavy topics. Its more tied together as an album, with a lot of seamless transitions between tracks, which I like. There's a handful of good songs, but also a bunch of songs I already forget about. As it is the Roots 7th album, I'm not really impressed. But if I heard this having never listened to them before, I'd probably be blown away. So I'll settle somewhere in the middle, like I did with "The Tipping Point."

The Roots - Rising Down (2008) 8/10
Another solid album. I hadn't listened to this is several months, but I really liked it. It's in my Top 10 of the year, though dangling on at number 10. In the same way that I saw "Phrenology" being basically "Things Fall Apart" Volume 2, I think Rising Down feels a lot like "Game Theory" Volume 2. It has the same serious tone and heavy subject matter, with the rhymes and production both tight and really enjoyable. My problem with the album is that there are too many features. Although almost everyone featured does really well on the album, I just hate it when people have features in almost every track. I need more Black Thought verses. I don't listen to the Roots because I wanna hear Dice Raw or P.o.r.n. So its a good album, but clearly not the Roots' best.