Review: Tyler, the Creator- Cherry Bomb

Tyler, the Creator is a pretty polarizing figure in popular music, and it's not hard to see why. His behavior is highly erratic and often offensive, but you can't help but see his talent as an artist and producer. I was exposed to him and his collective, Odd Future, first through his album, Goblin, though I have gone back and checked out the group's back catalog. Though Earl Sweatshirt is definitely my favorite rapper in the group, Tyler has definitely produced art that earns him his place as the group's de facto leader; namely, Bastard and his production work on the Earl mixtape and many other OFWGKTA projects.

Tyler's evolution as an artist has been kind of a weird trip. With every album, his production skills have definitely improved, as well as borrowed from more genres and influences, but each release has scaled back on concept. Bastard and Goblin were both pretty conceptual, with each project being a set up as a therapy session. Wolf, his previous album, may have been more abstract, but still a conceptual prequel to the other albums. Cherry Bomb does not fit into this canon, and may be Tyler's most straight forward release due to this.

On a production stand point, unfortunately, this album is all over the place. Some songs, including '2Seater' and 'Find Your Wings' have some of the best beats Tyler has ever produced, borrowing from a R&B, soul and jazz, but some tracks, like the opener 'Deathcamp' are loaded with so much distortion and compression that Tyler's verses are barely audible. Distorted production is nothing new, but generally the vocal mixing is higher in order for the lyrics to be audible. The production might not be that bad if not for the mixing. This album, I'm assuming, is not going for shoegaze, so the vocal mixing is definitely a problem.

The vocal mixing might be an even worse problem if there were more lyrics worth hearing. Tyler has the occasional clever line, but a lot of it is more of the same (i.e. homophobic slurs, misogyny and rage). While it seems like other OFWGKTA alumni such as Earl Sweatshirt have matured their lyrical content, Tyler seems to be at the same place he was at on Bastard, just over more uneven production, and with more famous (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Pharrell), though forgettable, features.

I want to like this album more than I do, but the really uneven production, stale lyrical content, and more straight forward nature soured my opinion a little bit. I hope this is not what I can expect in the future. I'm hoping Tyler can grow up a little bit before the next album, go back to the concept (maybe the third therapy session?) and work on some more solid production like what I heard on '2Seater'. I feel like Tyler may have rushed this a little bit, because among the mediocrity, there are really some great moments here. But when compared to better OF releases from this year (I Don't Like Sh*t, Under the Influence 2), or his own previous work, it comes up a bit short.

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

Tons of new releases coming out that I'm excited about, so I hope to be doing a lot more reviews soon. What did you think of this album? Are there albums that you are excited about? Comment and let me know.

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Record Store Day 2015 Recap

So I'm assuming most readers of my blog (if there are in fact any) may have heard of a little thing called Record Store Day, and as such, may be interested in what I picked up. I waited about an hour or so at a store a little outside Pittsburgh, and pretty much got exactly what I was looking for and more. I also teamed up with my dad 5 hours away to double our efforts and chances of victory.

• K.M.D.- Bl_ck B_st_rds Box: Was not aware of the picture disc 7", so was pretty pumped by that. All the bonus tracks are great, too.
• D'Angelo- The Charade b/w 1000 Deaths: Pretty standard 7", but Black Messiah was a great record and thought I'd pick it up.
• Swans- 12" EP: This was one of the ones I was really excited about. Also picked up the Filth repressing and my favorite album of last year (To Be Kind) while I was there as well. The vinyl pressings are great and the re-sequencing on To Be Kind is actually really interesting. Also, the poster inserts in To Be Kind and Filth are awesome.
• of Montreal- Snare Lustrous Doomings: Was really excited about this release as well, the first live record from of Montreal. They have a hell of a show, as I can hear, and it really excites me to say that I'll be seeing them in Pittsburgh soon. Tour photos are great, and I love the colored vinyl. Also, managed to pick up the Satanic Panic in the Attic Record Store Day pressing from last year, which, surprisingly, was still in the store.
• Manic Street Preachers- The Holy Bible Picture Disc: One of my favorite discoveries from last year, as I have said in a previous post. I was pretty excited to be able to pick up a special vinyl copy.
• Jerry Garcia- Compliments: This, admittedly, was an impulse grab, but as many posts have already stated, I am a pretty big Dead fan. I have really only listened to Garcia, his first solo record, so I'm excited to discover more of his solo stuff for the first time. My dad, always the over spender, got the vinyl box set of the March 29th 1990 gig at Nassau Coliseum. 
• The Decemberists-Picaresque: Big fan, and was really excited about the deluxe reissue. Surprised by the inclusion of some live material as a download.
• Syd Barrett b/w R.E.M.-Dark Globe: I am a big fan of Syd Barrett's work, and though I have both of his albums on vinyl and CD, I was convinced to pick up this single.
• Frank Zappa- Theme to '200 Motels': I actually got this for my dad, but he got it as well. A nice purple pressing. Actually more excited about the b side. Saw 200 Motels, and it was (like every Zappa film) the weirdest thing you'll ever watch.
• Miles Davis- Prestige 10" LP Box Vol.2: I had received the first volume for Christmas, and knew this was a must get. I actually didn't manage to get a hold of it, as there were only a few copies at my record store, and I was pretty far back in line. Luckily, my dad and I were working in tandem. 
• Otis Redding- Otis Blue: One of my 50 favorite albums gets a deluxe pressing. A disc for both stereo and mono versions, along with a reproduction of a Stax Records 7". An amazing package.
• The White Stripes- Get Behind Me Satan: A gift for my long time girlfriend. It was one of her favorite albums in high school, and knew this would be a great gift. 
• Marvin Gaye- How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You): Another gift for her. She's a sucker for old school soul, and Marvin Gaye is one of the best. 

Also picked up Pat Martino's We'll Be Together Again while I was there, and had my dad pick up an LP from his local record store's owner, Armand Schaubroeck, Live at the Holiday Inn. I touched on his work briefly in albums I discovered or rediscovered last year. All in all, probably spent waaaay too much, but it was worth it. Got some great records, supported some local stores, and it was a great experience. Looking forward to the next Record Store Day on Black Friday.

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Review: Fred Thomas- All Are Saved

So, like most people coming to this album, I had never heard of Fred Thomas. I just happened to get a free single in my Polyvinyl order with 'Cops Don't Care Pt. II' on it, and it got me intrigued. So I checked this album out, and I have not been able to stop listening to it. It'll probably make me look through the rest of Thomas' discography, be it solo or part of his countless collaborations. I don't know how someone who has made this much music has evaded me for so long. And if this album is any indication, Fred Thomas has been putting out quality material for years.

I'm not even sure how to describe this album. For the most part, it's a singer songwriter affair, but with moments of synth laden trip out sound effects and other weird sonic experimentation, with some of the strangest and yet very relate-able lyrical content. It's kind of like if Mark Kozelek fronted some sort of acoustic MGMT offshoot. It's weird, but great. This is an album where as soon as the record's over, you press play and experience it all over.

This album shares a lot with Sun Kil Moon, as I kind of already said with the Kozelek comparison, but the extremely specific stories, complete with pointless minutia somehow makes the experiences described more relate-able, even though none of these things were likely to have happened to you in exactly the same way. The lyrics are just very vivid, especially 'Bed Bugs'. I can definitely picture the subject of that song, and I've felt like that person sometimes as well.

I first listened to this album in a park, on the first warm day here in Pittsburgh. It was one of those kind of perfect experiences, just to absorb the work and soak in the first legitimate rays of sun in months. This record, with all its darkness, was still a very uplifting experience and is one of the most interesting, personal, sonically diverse, and well executed albums of this year for me. There's not much I can say about this album, other than you really should give this a chance. As for me, I'm off to track down a back catalog.

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

Check back in soon for my thoughts on the new Tyler, the Creator record, and if you're interested, a list of what I picked up on Record Store Day.

 


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Review: Earl Sweatshirt- I Don't Like Sh*t, I Don't Go Outside

So this has been a long time coming. It really took me a while to form an opinion on this album, mainly due to its depth, but also the differences between it and its predecessor, Doris. Earl has been a favorite rapper of mine for a while now, mainly due to his mastery of flow and highly personal material. While I enjoyed Earl, his debut mixtape, I can't say I didn't have reservations about its pretty violent subject matter, which thankfully was not the case with Doris or this project. Though both are very dark, they show a more mature side of Earl Sweatshirt.

Earl is a very troubled person, and he definitely expresses that in his music. He really can paint a picture with his words and production, of which he handled on all but one track, and that picture is one of self imposed isolation and an inability to deal with fame or identify with others. I enjoy how he did the production for the most part here, as he seems very comfortable rapping over the beats, and I can respect and artist who knows what sound they want and goes the extra mile to bring it to life themselves. You can almost picture him in a darkened basement making the album. This album is also short on features, which I also like, thus adding to that feeling of isolation. The features are good (especially Vince Staples, as always), but they don't add too much, and I think a project with just Earl would have fit the lonely mood a lot better.

As for lyrics, they are a lot more straight to the point here than on Doris, and the production is dark, depressing, but also quite airy. It's kind of like stepping into a fog, like the beginning of Silent Hill or something to that effect. 'Grief', the lead off single, almost has a William Basinski like style to the loop, which I thought was great. The album ran a pretty concise 30 minutes, which was good, as there was no time for it to lag, and therefore held attention and kept the mood the whole way through.

As a whole, I like this album a pretty good deal. The wordplay here is not as flashy as on Doris, but the raps here are subtle and very enjoyable if you pay enough attention. This album is a little more slow paced, but the intensity shines through on tracks like 'Mantra' and 'DNA'. Earl definitely delivered an album that will challenge his OFWGKTA fan base, but I think if you give this album enough time for it to click, it's definitely worth your time.

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

Later I'll be sharing my opinions on the new album by Fred Thomas, All are Saved, as well as Tyler, the Creator's new album, Cherry Bomb.

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Review: William Basinski- Cascade

I'm sorry for finally getting around to this. As a pretty big Basinski enthusiast, I was waiting with a lot of anticipation for his next project. It came as a great surprise when it was revealed that Cascade would be the first part of a two part project with a companion piece to be released later. I have since pre-ordered The Deluge, and am now eagerly awaiting that release.

For the uninitiated, William Basinski's work is largely based on tape loops, consisting of generally small piano figures that loop over and over, while subtle differences in the loop reveal themselves. This work is no different, but it always seems to win me over. The small melody played here has a very sad feel about it, and these figures always have such a dusty and archaic feel about them, as if they have existed before the dawn of time. The piece has an extremely hypnotic quality, and the subtle differences and how the piece slowly progresses really immerse you in the piece to try and hear the changes. You can be listening and hear a slight hum or a piano note in the background, and be questioning whether that was always there. The piece has been going on for twenty minutes, you think you'd know for certain, right? All in all, this piece is just another emotional roller coaster in the William Basinski discography, that really makes you question your life, and gets you in that existential and philosophical mood.

The description of The Deluge really has me intrigued, in which this piece is modified by feedback loops that will harmonize the piano and loop it endlessly. It sounds like it can be a really amazing experience. As for this piece, I find it to be a really immersive record whose loops can enthrall and captivate, and leaves me eager for its companion piece.

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

Check in later for my opinion on The Deluge, and check in even sooner for my opinion on the new Earl Sweatshirt, which I promise won't be much longer.


"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."