Review: Ulver- ATGCLVLSSCAP

Ulver is a group with quite an interesting progression. Formed by vocalist (and now programmer) Kristoffer Rygg in 1993, Ulver was one of the bands associated with the second wave of black metal, and Rygg has worked with many of the other groups in this scene over the years, including Emperor,  Darkthrone, and the fabled Mayhem. However, pretty early on in their career, they changed their sound to incorporate electronic elements, and over the course of the years, they have embraced elements of dark ambient, folk, avant-garde as well as their original metal influences to form a unique and experimental catalog of music.

This new album, an anagram for the 12 Zodiac signs, is based on the series of 12 concerts in Norway from 2014, which were based largely on improvisation. Highlights were then culled from these performances and assembled and overdubbed in the studio. This process reminds me a lot of the Grayfolded project John Oswald assembled using the Grateful Dead's large collection of 'Darkstar' live recordings. I find it really interesting how cohesive both these projects are, and yet how far each go in every direction.

Starting with an ambient opener ringing with looped bells and dark synth tones, 'England's Hidden' is a richly layered track that seamlessly segues into the more driving tracks, that experiment with many different forms of percussion and rhythmic approaches. One of these more percussive tracks, 'Cromagnosis', is one of the noisier tracks here, with prominent guitars and both world percussion and traditional drumming, and, along with being one of my favorite tracks here, illustrates the vast range Ulver can cover in only one track.

The noise begins to recede, with soundscapes and more progressive rock sounds being explored near the albums middle. This section is complete with complexly structured atmospheres and slowly building instrumental climaxes, reaching almost post-rock levels of catharsis, but with a bit more of a sinister quality.

Near the end of the album, the vocals take center stage. While the tracks for the majority of the album were entirely instrumental (excluding some taped monologues or wordless chants), this section allows Rygg to show his vocal and lyrical talents. Kristoffer Rygg has quite emotive and powerful clean vocals for a singer who originally sang black metal. I couldn't imagine many other black metal vocalists being able to accomplish what Rygg can.

I quite enjoyed this project. It was very well assembled, covered a vast range of sounds and genres, but never felt like it was trying to do too much as to become disjointed. While I feel like the vocal parts might have been interspersed throughout the album, as I thought it might be all instrumental until the back end, I don't feel like it hurt the flow, and I enjoyed the vocals. Ulver has proved that their experimental streak is far from over, and that despite their humble beginnings, they have become one of the more unpredictable acts in Norwegian music.

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

What did you think of the album? What projects are you currently excited about? Feel free to let me know. I'll be taking a look at Tortoise's new record, The Catastrophist, as well as the collaborative album by Jesu and Sun-Kil Moon in the near future.

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Blackstar- My First Posthumous Listen

A few weeks ago, I reviewed David Bowie's new album, Blackstar. In it, I described my appreciation for Bowie's experimentation, but said the record might not exactly be for me. I said I liked it, but didn't love it, but was still looking forward to what he was going to do next. Unfortunately, this would be his last album, as he would pass away a few days after I reviewed the album. His long time battle with cancer was a complete secret and shocker to most, but his music leaves an awe inspiring account of facing death and the recognition of one's own mortality and the contemplation of one's own legacy. 

With his cancer battle now public knowledge, the allusions in the lyrics and videos become much more obvious, and the oblique references and confusing lines become that much more tangible. Even the title alludes to the burning out of a star, which is probably the most elegant metaphor Bowie could have possibly chosen, given his iconic status and to his career long flirtation with space themes and imagery. Blackstar will go down as one of those albums that possesses so much self awareness, and the themes of the project become all the more important and meaningful once the artist who made it passes. This joins Joy Division's Closer and Manic Street Preachers' Holy Bible in this realm of eerie foreshadowing. David Bowie was already speaking from beyond the grave; we just didn't know it at the time.

While some of my opinions on the album still stand, my first listens to the album after Bowie's passing were that much more informed, and the confusing nature of the music suddenly made complete sense. Death is still a mystery to us all, and we have no idea where we'll go, or what will happen to us. David Bowie tackled this feeling and his own mortality with such courage and artistry, and rarely do artists have such an opportunity to reflect and create a project that analyzes their life and the culmination of their work. I'm so glad that Bowie had this opportunity, and though I, like many, are saddened by his loss, he stayed true to form and delivered a great performance to the very end. 

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Track Review: Kanye West- Real Friends w/ SWISH release date thoughts

Kanye's new music has been on my radar for some time now. I put SWISH on my most anticipated list, and most recently, I was not a fan of 'FACTS', the NIKE dis track that doubled as a public embarrassment. His rhymes, as they have been for some time, were way past the boundary of egomania, his flow was trash, and he jumped on a typical trap beat emulating some of my least favorite rappers in the game. When this new song was released, I was skeptical, but thought I would give it a try any way. I was actually pleasantly surprised.

The beat was something new; a bouncy, reverb heavy piano and drum loop with a real cavernous quality. Kanye also forgoes the brag raps (for the most part) for a more introspective approach, sharing stories of how his fame has affected the relationships between himself and his friends and extended family. There's a bit in there about him having to buy back his laptop for a ridiculous amount of money from his cousin, who had stolen it. Ty Dolla $ign delivers the hook, and even he doesn't manage to ruin the song (he has his moments, like on Lupe Fiasco's 'Deliver', but the whole auto-tune croon thing is not my bag). That's not to say the track didn't overstay it's welcome a little bit. The loop really didn't switch up, so the mid tempo ballad aspect of the song gets a little stale, especially if you know what comes next.

The more interesting bit, tacked onto the end, was a snippet of the song 'No More Parties in LA', a Madlib produced track featuring Kendrick Lamar. It sounds like Kanye West is tired of Kim dragging him around to events for the publicity, and clearly she never heard this song, since that line about the spray tan is down right savage. As per usual, Kendrick kills the track, even though you only get to hear about 10 seconds of his rap, which has that mile a minute, tongue twisting flow. If 'Real Friends' didn't pique fans' interest, 'No More Parties in LA' definitely did.

All in all, this new track renewed my interest in SWISH after 'FACTS' pretty much decimated it. I'm hoping 'No More Parties in LA' is a sign of things to come, but with Kanye West, you'll never really know what you're getting until you hear the finished product. News of the album release being announced for February 11th are good, but I know how these album release things go. Kanye has taken his sweet time with this album release, since I swore I heard news of him rapping the entire project to Seth Rogen in a car years ago. I just hope this date is legit, and won't come and go with no product.

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Review: David Bowie- Blackstar

One thing you can say about David Bowie is that he is never comfortable mining the same ground for long, and is constantly reinventing his image and music. I can appreciate his urge to evolve and try new things, even this late into his career. While some of his contemporaries felt more than comfortable to repeat the successful formula until the well ran dry, Bowie refused to rest on his laurels and instead carved out his own lane, flirting with many sounds in the process. As for me, my favorite Bowie material is probably that shared by many others; his glam rock era, as well as his Berlin era. The '80s claimed many other successful '70s pop acts, but David Bowie managed to survive that as well as his ill fated experimentation with Tin Machine.

But what do I think about this album? I can say it's certainly different. To paint a word picture, it sounds like a combination of jazz, new wave, IDM, and some classic crooning balladry. You might not think that these sound all that palatable together, but Bowie manages to do a good job making this sound cohesive. At points ('I Can't Give Everything Away') it comes off a little silly, but I feel like for the most part, this project is very interesting. I thought 'Lazarus' , the title track, and 'Girl Loves Me' were probably my favorite tracks off the album, and I think these were the ones that played with a darker tone.

Sometimes, I do get lost. The kind of Aphex Twin/ Radiohead style drum loops are sometimes a little too off kilter, and kind of throw off the drive of some of the tracks. There are moments that seem like there are some mismatched parts, with Bowie crooning with a lot of vibrato over very jittery beats and saxophone improvisation. It's definitely the most experimental Bowie has been on record in some time, if not ever.

So, I guess this album, though interesting, may not be for me. I can appreciate what Bowie is doing, and for what it is, I think he does it well, but what it is, may not be my cup of tea. I do think he's pushing the boundaries, and I'm glad he has the freedom to pursue what he wants. The thing about good musicians is that they will have many periods in their career, and not all of them have to please everyone. I still enjoy Rush in spite of Power Windows, and my appreciation for Radiohead didn't decline after King of Limbs came out. I'll still be looking forward to what David Bowie puts out next, because even though this didn't strike a chord with me personally, he is still putting out wildly experimental music. Maybe after some more listens, I'll have an epiphany moment, but for now, I like it, but I don't love it. Hats off to you, Bowie. Let your freak flag fly!

Out of a total of five album covers (get it?), I give this:

What did you think of the album? Let me hear it. I'll be looking at Kanye West's surprise song 'Real Friends', and sharing my thoughts on the SWISH release date announcement.

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Track Review: Kanye West- FACTS

A happy new year to everyone (except those using the Chinese calendar I guess). I thought I'd share my thoughts on the track Kanye West dropped (or in my opinion, inflicted) on New Year's Eve. This track was a little problematic to me for a few reasons, so I thought I might vent.

-First of all, this track isn't even produced by Kanye. It's the instrumental to 'Jumpman', from that abortion of a collaboration Drake and Future cobbled together. Maybe I give Kanye too much credit, but I always thought he was better than biting Drake and Future.

-For all the talk of how Nike is struggling, and how they "can't give sh*t away", I always see people going crazy every time new Jordans come out, so....yeah....

-Are you proud that you're holding out on fans to shill overpriced shoes instead? I don't care if your sneakers "go platinum".

-That Kimoji line was stupid (not to mention the Jimmy Fallon one, the Bill Cosby one [are we comparing rape to forgetting someone's name at a pageant now?], the Mustard one, and countless others). "We" didn't make a million a minute. Your wife did. Are you that low on things to brag about that you have to resort to Kim Kardashian's accomplishments?

-Also, did your voice crack when you screamed on the track? Dude, you're almost forty. Puberty should be in the back window. Also, if you were going for a Meek Mill thing, do you seriously have your head that far up your ass that you didn't hear about him?

This track left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. If I had heard this before my top 10 anticipated albums of 2016, SWISH might not have been on it. Kanye has this way of being just so deluded that people want to here him pump himself up after yet another fashion brand shut him down. Is there no emotion or introspection in his music at all anymore? This next album is either going to be a total left field project that's sounded nothing like this track or the ones he dropped last year, or it'll just be a watered down continuation of the mindless egoism that's littered his music post 808s.


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Anticipated Albums of 2016

As with last year, I thought I might share some of the albums or projects I'm anticipating for next year. Some have been confirmed, and others are just my wishful thinking. Feel free to share what albums you're anticipating next year. In alphabetical order:

• Beck- TBA: There have been some talks of Beck's next album. It has been said that it's a more logical successor to Modern Guilt, and 'Dreams', possibly off the next album, was pretty decent, so hopefully it'll be pretty good. I was a little disappointed by Morning Phase.
• DOOMSTARKS- Self Titled (?): The MF DOOM/ Ghostface Killah collaborative album has had it's share of setbacks, but hopefully it comes out next year. I heard the track they shared on Adult Swim, 'Lively Hood', and it got me pumped. Hopefully this will be a little more of DOOM than NehruvianDOOM was, and hopefully it'll be a return to form for Ghostface.
• Gorillaz- TBA: I have heard rumblings about the new Gorillaz project in the works. I enjoyed Plastic Beach, and though The Fall wasn't my favorite album (I kind of thought it was a little bit of a novelty that it was recorded all on an ipad), there were moments that were cool, and I'm still excited to see what Damon Albarn and company bring to the table next.
• Lush- Untitled EP: Following news of the band's reunion, the band also announced their plans for an as yet untitled EP. Lush are one of my favorite shoegaze acts, and I'm really excited to hear what they're planning. I'm hoping they embrace their more dreamy sound, not that I don't enjoy Lovelife, but I just enjoy their take on shoegaze as opposed to their more Britpop influenced material.
• M.I.A.- Matahdatah: Matangi wasn't exactly my favorite M.I.A. project, but 'Borders' got me pretty pumped for the new album. M.I.A. has been pretty silent for a while other than 'Borders', and you can always expect her to bring some new sounds to a project, so it'll be interesting to see the progression and see what M.I.A. has been up to.
• Robin Pecknold- Solo Material: News of Robin Pecknold touring with Joanna Newsom and debuting new solo material was music to my ears. I hope this culminates in some recorded material. Anything from Robin Pecknold. Fleet Foxes are on hiatus for now, so I'll pretty much take anything I can get.
• Run the Jewels- Run the Jewels 3: El-P and Killer Mike are currently in the studio preparing their follow up to 2014's excellent album. It's been a pretty eventful couple of years for Run the Jewels, and I hope this year of touring and break from recording (apart from the Meow the Jewels remix album) will bring them back fresh for this project. I feel like they'll be able to create a solid trilogy of great hip hop albums.
• Swans- TBA: To Be Kind was my favorite album of last year, and I'm very excited to see what Michael Gira and crew do to follow it up. The Gate showed a lot of promise for the record, and I've already pre-ordered the vinyl, so waiting with baited breath. I've been following the band's journey through the recording process, Sonic Ranch and otherwise, so I'm really excited to see what comes out of the supposed final release of this lineup of the band.
• Tortoise- The Catastrophist: I'm looking forward to seeing what the celebrated post rock band is going to dish out with this new album. There's been a pretty long album silence since Beacons of Ancestorship, and I'm excited to see the new and interesting ways that they'll bend countless genres to their will and churn out some intricately arranged but amazingly performed music.
• Kanye West- SWISH (for now): Yeezus was a pretty polarizing album, but I guess I enjoyed a fair portion of it, that portion being the production. I really haven't been interested in a lot of Kanye's lyrical content recently, that content being dominated by a ton of shallow braggadocios droning. However, I enjoyed 'Only One' and 'All Day', though having some repetitive lyrics, had a pretty good beat. I'm interested to see the extent of Paul McCartney's collaboration on the album as well. Hopefully, Kanye will step up on the lyrical front and keep pushing the envelope production wise. 

So, those are the albums or projects I'm looking forward to the most. Be sure to share what albums you're looking forward to in 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."