Review: Noise vs. Beauty- Bassnectar

Lorin Ashton, aka Bassnectar, has been releasing albums and a ridiculous amount of mixtapes for quite a while now, and finally seems to be getting some major exposure with the surge in popularity of electronic genres in the past few years. I myself was turned on to Bassnectar in college through his Timestretch EP and through his mixtape output, which blends some great hip hop, rock and metal into his eclectic production style, which includes elements of trap, brostep, and house. I have always thought something was missing from his sound, and with the release of his new album, Noise vs. Beauty, I think I may have put my finger on it.

This album is full of intense danceable tracks with plenty of bass drops and breaks for Bassheads. The problem I have found with this album is what I have found with the others; the sounds of the programming. Don't get me wrong, Ashton is a great producer, and his mixtapes are always amazing, but the sounds of the drums and synths sound a little prepackaged. The thing that I admire about Aphex Twin, and to a lesser extent Skrillex, is that they can program and tweek synthesizers and drum machines to produce radically innovative and off the wall sounds. No one can listen to Skrillex's belching bass tones or Aphex Twin's drum sounds or synths and say they aren't unique. The drum machines that are on a majority of Bassnectar's output are very similar, and are also quite similar with a lot of recent hip hop production. This is not to say that he doesn't do interesting things with these sounds, but there is a difference between working inside the box, and destroying the box entirely. This leads me to another whole problem I have been  having. Trap music, though popular, may be one of the most stagnant and least innovative sub-genres in electronic music. Lex Luger perfected trap beats, and stripping the raps off and adding little blippy synths is not particularly interesting or groundbreaking.

Now that that's out of the way, I feel like this album is pretty solid, but I think it does little for Ashton's growth as an artist, and though it will likely keep Bassheads happy, he may be retreading ground at this point. Say what you will about Deadmau5's latest project (I know I have), but it was definitely a direction towards some unknown territory. A solid effort, but I think Bassnectar can afford to mix it up and try out some new directions and tinker with some synth settings to produce some radically new sounds. Looking forward to see how he mixes these tracks into other. That Immersion Music tape was ridiculous.

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

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Review: Fuego- Phish

Phish is a band with a pretty uneven studio output. While riveting in a live setting, the Vermont group sometimes seems to have a problem translating that energy to record. Due to the length of the jams that occur during a Phish show, compacting that kind of sound onto a LP is a task that has been successful (Rift) and unsuccessful (Undermind) in the past. So, when I saw that this album had been released, my excitement was a little tentative. Would this album capture that energy, or fall short? Not surprisingly, it was a little bit of both for me.

The album opens with the title track, which takes a sharp left turn shortly into the 9 minute run time with a pretty great guitar and drum breakdown. Unfortunately, apart from this section of the song, there isn’t much to it, and with a longer run time, it becomes a little tedious. The rest of the album is pretty hit or miss. The lyrics for the most part are pretty bland, and the music, though at times interesting, is devoid of flavor as well. They are good frameworks for adding to for live performances, but I feel like some longer jam sections and some stronger lyrics could have really made this album a lot better. With the lukewarm reception these songs got live at their Halloween show, the need to retool the songs was there, but for the most part, the tweaks did little to change my opinion.

I do like Phish, and I do think there are some solid ideas here. Maybe if the songs were a little more fleshed out, and had a little more of the improv aspect to them, it might have been a little more interesting, but here there is little way in the way of enthusiasm. People have said that the band’s studio output does not capture the feel of their live shows, and I feel like they have stopped trying to prove these people wrong. As a touring act, Phish still has it in spades, but I think they might have to take a break from the studio and find some new songwriting inspiration.

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

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Review: The Caustic Window LP- Aphex Twin

When news of the Kickstarter campaign for a test pressing of Aphex Twin aka Richard D. James' 1994 unreleased Caustic Window hit the web, the population internet lost their collective minds. And, thankfully, the test pressing was ripped to a digital format and available for streaming, because the general population would not have been able to afford its hefty price tag. The reason this was unreleased for 20 years is still mystery, but in my eyes, it's not for lack of quality.

If sent for a test pressing in '94, this would have been most likely recorded around the time of ...I Care Because You Do, and it has some of its dark ambient flavor, along with traits of Selected Ambient Works Volume II. This is an ambient album at heart, though is a little more rhythmic than some other offerings, though for the most part, this doesn't throw off the ambient, hypnotic atmosphere.I said for the most part because the tracks 'Mumbly' and 'Phlaps' take me out of the mood a little, and may draw a little too much attention to truly be ambient tracks that fit with the album. They're both great tracks by themselves, but may not work within the confines of Caustic Window.  The tracks sound simple at first, but deeper listening into the layers of each track reveal an absurd amount of complexity. I try to imagine how manipulating an analog synthesizer can result in some of the sounds heard on this album, but I wouldn't even be able to guess.

All in all, I have no idea why this was not released, because this is a great collection of music. And with more test pressings being auctioned on eBay, we might see some more unreleased Aphex Twin in the future. And since he really hasn't released anything besides bonus tracks to Analord in 5 years, I'll take what I can get. After 20 years of sitting on a shelf, it's amazing how well this album holds up and how fresh it sounds. Electronic music by any other artist in the 1990s would sound so ancient if released today, but Richard James' work was so ahead of the time, others are still trying to catch up. Hopefully we'll hear some new material soon. Rumor has it that James has a minimum of half a dozen albums worth of material waiting to see the light of day. And I'll be right there when it's released.

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

Check in later for my thoughts on the new Phish album, Fuego, as well as Bassnectar's Noise vs. Beauty, and Heaven & Earth, the latest Yes project.

"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."

May/June Mini Reviews

So, after another long and drawn out break from writing, I thought I'd share some of my opinions on some albums that were released in my absence. I wouldn't bore you with a full analysis of some of these albums (mainly because they've been out for some time as of this writing). I just thought I'd share some overall impressions I got of the projects and the artists releasing them. For the mini reviews, I decided to look at Spanish Gold's South of Nowhere, Wiz Khalifa's 28 Grams, Jack White's Lazaretto, and Death Grips' latest effort, Ni**as on the Moon.

Spanish Gold: South of Nowhere

Patrick Hallahan's side project away from My Morning Jacket delivered for me in a pretty big way. I guess to the describe the sound, it would have to be a Southwest cross between the Black Keys (minus the overproduction) and the poppier side of the Allman Brothers. If you're looking for a new blues rock record, and The Black Keys are disappointing you like they have been to me, check this out. The drumming and guitar work are pretty interesting, and the lyrical content is a little bit more inspired than your typical blues rock fare. This increases my already palpable anticipation for the new My Morning Jacket record even more, with the possibility of some more band cooperation.

Wiz Khalifa: 28 Grams

I was way too hard on Cyhi the Prynce. The more I listen to it, the more wordplay is revealed. I still believe the mixtape is uneven, but there's evidence that a large amount of care went into each song. The same cannot be said for Wiz Khalifa's new mixtape. For me, Wiz has been on a steady downward spiral for a while. When I was introduced to him as many were with 'Black And Yellow', he was hardly a rap genius, but was catchy enough. When I looked through his back catalog, I found even that was a rapid drop off in quality from his previous work (look for Show and Prove for a view of his potential if he actually cared). You can only rap without rhyming about weed and having money for so long before I get tired of it. And when you filter that through a Future like autotune, that time decreases rapidly. I also can't understand why this project had to be so long. If you're only saying the same thing, you don't have to say it for almost an hour and a half. The laurels Wiz has been resting on are disappearing fast. 

Jack White: Lazaretto

I have never really been a gigantic fan of Jack White's output, but I can appreciate what he tries to accomplish. Trying to infuse old school blues and country into an garage rock setting is a noble pursuit. He pulls it off for the most part on his second solo effort. All the Jack White weirdness is definitely present on this album, and jumps genres almost as much and as seamlessly as Beck. I guess my one complaint is that is not nearly as heavy or riff laden as I would like, but this is not a White Stripes or Dead Weather release. I can appreciate that Jack White is expanding his sound and branching out in many different directions.

Death Grips: Ni**as on the Moon

Death Grips have always been aggressive and abrasive, with interesting production and barking vocals. Imagine my surprise when I listened to this album for the first time. I can't say I hated the album, but with its more laid back sound (laid back for Death Grips is still like hip hop death metal) and droning vocal style, I can say I wouldn't be calling this my favorite Death Grips album anytime soon. The production is also a little bit repetitive in spots (If I heard the phrase 'Up My Sleeves' one more time, I was going to lose it). Half the time though, I feel like Death Grips is just playing a cruel joke on the listener, and I can appreciate their desire to have creative freedom, but I preferred their more aggressive output, and the second disc of the powers that b album is probably going to get a little less anticipation from me.

So, I guess those are just some of my opinions on some of the recent releases. Check back in soon for my look at the long lost Aphex Twin album, Caustic Window.

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Review: To Be Kind- Swans

Swans are a band that defies any sort of trend. Michael Gira does what he wants, writes and plays what he wants, and that is definitely something to be respected. A few years into their new lineup, and coming of the success of The Seer, Swans have followed it up with an amazing record (or set, actually), that pushes boundaries all over the place.

The opening riff to 'Screen Shot' sounds like 'Help, I'm a Rock' on steroids, and its highly hypnotic groove pays off big time in this slow burner. Swans know how to build up tension over time, and how to make repetitive song structures build an atmosphere in a way that few can claim to do. I've heard this album may be a little lighter compared to their previous material. Compared to what? Young God? Maybe, but light? Definitely not. Those laughs on 'Just a Little Boy' may be one of the creepiest, most off putting things I've heard in a while. This album definitely paints a less than cheery picture, but the the atmosphere created is astounding. 

As with The Seer, this album is a massive, sprawling, monstrosity. Which is great. The length really lets Swans squeeze the tension out of every last song. And, as can be expected with Swans, they produce a record so haunting and ugly, and yet, somehow, beautiful. This is definitely something to listen to, and you will not be the same after experiencing it. This may well be my favorite album of the year thus far. I'm looking forward to more amazing material. It's not often that a band comes back arguably stronger than when they left, but it can definitely be said about Swans.

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

"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: Turn Blue: The Black Keys

After a little hiatus, I'm back and ready to take a look at the new release by the Black Keys, Turn Blue. With this album, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney said they wanted to do something a little different, but did they succeed?

I have kind of a complicated history with the Black Keys. At first, I loved their loose and raw sound. But as time progressed, and as producer Danger Mouse sanded down all the rough edges, I started to lose interest as their sound became a little too polished for my taste. They "Tightened Up" a little too much, if I might say so (excuse the pun). I had mixed feelings about El Camino, with the exception of the amazing album cut 'Little Black Submarines', but I felt the tight arrangements and the horribly overused background vocalists for the choruses reeked of overproduction (not to mention the painfully off key bass line in 'Run Right Back'). This is still present on Turn Blue, unfortunately (thanks Danger Mouse), but I feel like there's a bit more room to move around in the arrangements this time around.

From the first note, I thought I put the wrong album on. 'Weight of Love' is a moody atmospheric slow burner that is a great way to kick off an album that is meant to be different than El Camino. Unfortunately, the singles off this album (especially 'Fever') are more of the same stomp, synth infused pop. I feel like these songs kind of miss the point of what the Black Keys used to be doing, but I'm all for expanding a box of tricks. I just feel like their pop tracks lack the personality of the music I was initially drawn. The rest of the album is more on the midtempo side, and is for the most part forgettable. For me, it's a deviation of the formula of their Danger Mouse produced albums, but not a particularly interesting or significant digression. To me, this is outside, but pressing right up against the box. I feel like maybe a more interested producer could spark something in the Keys, because it feels like Danger Mouse has been on auto pilot for a while.

And in case, you were wondering, I couldn't care any less about Patrick Carney's feud with Justin Bieber. Concentrate on your music, and less on your little publicity stunts.

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

Check back in a few days for my look at the new Swans album, To Be Kind. It might take me a while to listen to that beast multiple times.

"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."