January Mini Reviews Part 2: Bjork, Aphex Twin, Viet Cong

Back with some more opinions on a few albums. This January has been pretty crazy when it comes to releases I was interested in. I'm sharing my views on Bjork's Vulnicura, the new EP by Aphex Twin, and the debut LP of post punk outfit, Viet Cong.

Bjork- Vulnicura


This project is amazing. Bjork probably gets the most personal here of her whole career, backed by morose strings and lavish production. This album comes after some very trying times in Bjork's personal life, and this definitely comes across in the lyrics and tone of the album. The most captivating part of this album to me is Bjork's vocals, which have a very vulnerable quality about them, and her delivery rivals even some of her classic performances. A lot of people believe this album succeeds where Biophilia left people cold due to its more personal content, to which I must agree. This is a must listen.






Aphex Twin- Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP


Aphex Twin aka Richard James continues his comeback winning streak with a fascinating experimental EP. All the instruments here are acoustic, which are then sampled, so no synths or drum machines here. I applaud the inventiveness and novel concept, and the sounds James can produce even by live instrument samples is pretty impressive. The piano and drum samples make this a pretty unnerving listen, as the low end of the piano can get kind of creepy. I feel like my only complaint might be the length. Some tracks are very short, and as soon as I start really getting into some of these tracks, they're over. I realize this is just an EP, and a series of experiments and etudes, but I think some of these ideas would have been so much better if they were given more time to expand.

Viet Cong- Viet Cong

This is powerful and intense post punk. Confrontational guitar attacks and insistent drum patterns serve as the backing for some very sternly delivered lyrics, which sound as intense as they are dispassionate and cold. Let's just say this is not 'Shiny Happy People'. And yet, with all its darkness and seriousness, it's a really fun record with grooves for days. It's really hard to find a record that can be so heavy and abrasive, and yet still have a fun, poppy quality about it. I'm glad I was turned onto this group, and I'm looking forward to more they have to offer.






Looking forward to more albums coming out soon. I'm feeling another Grateful Dead album spotlight in the meantime. Feel free to share some of your favorite albums of the new year.


"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

January Mini Reviews

So, I was actually planning on reviewing Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, along with a lot of these records, as stand-alone reviews, but the sheer number of albums that have been coming out this month that I was interested in was just insane, so I decided to share some brief opinions on them here. I'm tackling the aforementioned Panda Bear record, as well as Belle and Sebastian's Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance, The Decemberists' What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, Sleater-Kinney's No Cities To Love, and Tetsuo & Youth by Lupe Fiasco.

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper

I want to like this record more than I do. I liked Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks, but that solo effort by another member of Animal Collective faded for me pretty quickly. I feel like these solo projects haven't been approached with a lot of care, and though there are some interesting sounds and production details, there's not a whole lot to the songs to keep me coming back. This is just more of the synth psych with Brian Wilson-esque vocal melodies that we've come to expect from Panda Bear. I've heard it called "experimental", which would be the case if it were by someone else, but from one of the minds that gave us Feels and Strawberry Jam, this just feels kind of like middle of the road fare. Still a major step up from Centipede Hz though.




Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance



As it stands, this album has me feeling a little cold at the moment. Belle and Sebastian have been headed down the poppy direction for a while, but the synths and dance rhythms have them pretty far removed from their original sound. Changing sonic approaches is all part of evolving, but as a huge fan of Tigermilk, I'm kind of missing that intimate sound. Maybe later in the year this will click with me and I'll appreciate it more, but I'm a little ambivalent towards this record for the time being.








What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World


Hopes were definitely high for this record, and I really feel like the Decemberists delivered. I was a little iffy on The King is Dead, as it was just a little straight forward in sound, and was a little less ambitious than their previous work, especially my favorite album of theirs, the polarizing The Hazards of Love. I feel like they really blended some of their earlier complexity and verbose lyrical content with their newer, folk rock and Americana tinged sound. I hope I can catch them when they come to the Burgh later in the year.





No Cities To Love

Sleater-Kinney are back, and it doesn't sound like they ever left. A lot of these nineties band comebacks have been pretty disappointing, but this is not one of them. Dialing back a little of the experimentation of their last effort, The Woods, the band has returned with one of their more accessible records, which is good to attract a newer audience as well as please their hardcore fans, though this return album is hardly just a retread of their past work. They are building on their past success, and they definitely still have things to say and a message to spread. It's good to know that some bands can make a comeback and not be shadows of their former selves.




Tetsuo & Youth

I wasn't really sure how I was going to feel about this album. I wasn't a fans of Lasers, and though some of the subject matter and verses on the last album (title waay too long for me to bother typing) were compelling, the production and hooks were rather weak. About 4 minutes in, after some palpable atmospheric buildup, Lupe finally begins to rap, and it's all over from there. This album is absolutely amazing and defied all expectations I had for the album. This album is so densely packed with wordplay and lyrical content that'll take me a lot more listening to actually unpack and process all the project has to offer, but this miles away the best thing Lupe Fiasco has released in a long time, and has set the bar pretty high for my favorite hip hop of the year. I feel like only Run the Jewels 3 has even a chance of unseating this.



And now headed off to listen to Vulnicura and the new Aphex Twin EP, among other releases. This year has already popped out some amazing material, and we aren't even a month into the year!


"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Review: Death Grips- Fashion Week

Death Grips have once again continued their tradition of unexpected album drops. This one comes as quite a shock given that the band was supposedly broken up. While many are waiting for the second half of their breakup record, the powers that b, the band, minus their vocalist, MC Ride, decided to release an instrumental album instead.

As it stands, this album is far from your traditional Death Grips fair. Obviously, this is due to the lack of scream rap vocals, but the sound is a little more restrained as well. The production is much less aggressive and glitchy, which while still interesting in its own right, may be a little hard to swallow for fans that came to this band for its violently aggressive production. It has its moments that sound Death Grips adjacent, but a lot of this could easily be someone else. I've heard Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV mentioned when describing this project, and I'd have to agree, though a little less spacey and a lot more focused. This was described as a soundtrack, and it could totally work as one, though I can't really picture anyone walking down the catwalk to this at Paris Fashion Week.

I've given some criticism to Death Grips in the past for being a little one note and predictable, but I have to say I wasn't expecting this. I can't say that I dislike this album, but its sound may be a little mediocre for me. I feel like any electronic producer could have made this, as it doesn't have that Death Grips edge about it. That being said, I am still awaiting jenny death, and if the theories are to be believed, the title of this may be indicative of a release during fashion week. Fingers crossed. Missed MC Ride on this album, and am looking forward to hearing their "final"album (that is, if they're actually broken up), though this album wasn't quite what I was looking for from Death Grips.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this: 

Tons of reviews coming up in the future. I'll be looking at Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper soon. Let me know what you think of Death Grips and their new album, as well as their collective career trajectory.

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Anticipated Albums of Early 2015

I just thought I'd share a few albums I was looking forward to listening to that are coming out early in the year. I'll keep this brief and just share a few, though there are a ton of projects that I'm sure to enjoy this year.

Belle and Sebastian- Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (1/19/2015)

I'm looking forward to the group's new album in about 5 years, and have always been a fan of their sound, which has been getting a lot fuller the past few years.










The Decemberists- What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (1/20/2015)
I am a huge fan of the Decemberists, but had to say I was a little disappointed with the more poppy direction they took with The King Is Dead. I feel like they tried to over correct after the rock opera The Hazards of Love and watered down their songwriting a bit. I hope this will be a return to form.
















Father John Misty- I Love You, Honeybear (2/9/2015)
I have listened to a fair deal of Josh Tillman's projects, and was pleasantly surprised by his humorous and quirky Father John Misty moniker and the Fear Fun album. I hope he can keep this success going into his follow up record.
















of Montreal- Aureate Gloom (3/3/2015)
Kevin Barnes and company went in a different direction on their last album, Lousy with Sylvianbriar, and it was a direction I liked. Though I am a fan of their funk and dance influenced period, I thought diverging from that gave them some new creative energy, and am very interested to know  which direction they take on this project.

William Basinski- Cascade (3/2015)
William Basinski is a musical genius that mixes ambient music with tape loops to create emotionally crushing moods and beautiful soundscapes. I know this album will be business as usual, and that's all I can hope for.











So, check back in next time and I'll share my opinions on the surprise instrumental album from Death Grips, Fashion Week.

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."