Review: Kamasi Washington- The Epic

I had never heard of Kamasi Washington before I took a look at this album, but due to his appearance on To Pimp a Butterfly, the appearances by bass legend Thundercat, and the fact that this is in fact a three hour jazz fusion record, I was pretty drawn to it. Kamasi Washington handled saxophone here, and as a saxophone player myself (I've played since I was eight), I can really appreciate his skill. His playing can be extremely melodic, but in his faster runs, he pulls everything off so cleanly. When he's trying to screech and be noisey, he reaches harmonics I can only dream of (the embouchure and breath control required to reach some of the pitches heard on this album is staggering).

So, Kamasi Washington is a master saxophonist, but the members of his band prove that they're not about to be one upped. Every member has their own improvisational spotlight, and they use those opportunities to the utmost degree. The rhythm section on this album is what I found the best. The drumming and interplay it gets with the bass is superb, and the fact that all the players so easily follow these complex rhythm and time changes is impressive. It's clear that so much effort went into the arrangement of these songs, and even though I feel like a lot of the album is improvisational, there's a lot of evidence of just painstaking amounts of care and rehearsal. It's a loose jammy album, but with a rigid backbone, which gives it a duality that displays the skill of its musicians two fold.

 This album definitely lives up to its name. It is easily one of the most epic things in jazz I have ever heard. This is up there with some of Miles Davis' best fusion pieces and Kamasi Washington is next in line for John Coltrane status. This album is practically perfect, and I find it hard to talk about, because it is just so amazing, and it needs to be heard. If you're at all a fan of jazz or jazz fusion, missing this album would be a mistake. This will definitely be a contender for my album of the year. 

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

Check back in later for my views on the new Jamie xx and the new Sun Kil Moon record, Universal Themes. I might also get around to looking at Surf as well.

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Review: My Morning Jacket- The Waterfall

So, it's been a while. I really have been trying to form an opinion on this album for a while now, and I've been having a little bit of difficulty. My Morning Jacket has been a favorite group of mine for a good while, and as such, I probably had some pretty high expectations. I remember being a little disappointed with Circuital when it first dropped, but with repeated listens, it eventually made sense to me. I feel like My Morning Jacket for me is a group with projects that don't immediately grab me, but grow to be very big over time, which is why I won't be rating this. I'll feel weird about giving a rating when I am still kind of wrestling with it.

My Morning Jacket's sound has always been pretty spacey, and that is no different here. Jim James' vocals are soaked in reverb, which gives them a very heavenly and calming feel. Calming is probably a word that would describe this album pretty well to me. Though it has some propulsive drum grooves ('In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)'), some synthy sections and lyrical content that is a little darker than the normal MMJ fare, there isn't really a hard guitar breakdown in the tracklist here. I do enjoy some of the mellower moments here ('Get The Point'), as they kind of throw back to the Tenessee Fire era of the band, but I feel like with that hard track there, a bit of their sound is missing. I think they're trying to distance themselves from the eclecticism of Evil Urges, which apparently did not sit well with fans and critics, but is actually my favorite album by them. All I'm saying is I wouldn't mind a 'Highly Suspicious' in there somewhere.

I do feel like the mellow sound keeps the record pretty consistent, and there's a alot of trance like grooves to get lost in here. I don't think I've ever heard the rhythm section provide tighter and more catchy grooves. These tracks will probably be a hit when stretched out for live performances (seeing them in June, so I'm hoping). I splurged for the deluxe version of the album, which had some pretty decent bonus tracks (I actually really enjoyed the track 'Hillside Song'. A little out of the MMJ wheelhouse, but it was a nice little singer songwriter number).

All in all, I feel like this added some new hits to the My Morning Jacket live repertoire, and is probably one of there most consistent and focused in recent years. I do kind of miss some of the experimentation found on some of their releases from the mid to late 2000s, but I have feeling that this project might grow on me like Circuital did. Looking forward to see what the band does with these tunes live.

Check back in soon when I take a look at The Epic, the aptly titled 3 disc jazz record by Kamasi Washington. I'll also take a look at the new Jamie xx project, In Colour.

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I Saw of Montreal!

A few nights ago, I went to my first of Montreal show, and it was pretty amazing. I've seen video of performances, but it's quite something else to really experience. Icky Blossoms opened the show, and though I had never really heard of them, I thought they did a great job. They were kind of a synthy danceable indie act, and whoever they got to be their touring rhythm section (they're a three piece with no dedicated bass or drums) were great, especially the bass player. His low end really shook the place, and the effects he put on the bass were really interesting.

of Montreal opened with a small narration before quickly diving into 'Bassem Sabry' of the new album, Aureate Gloom. It sounded great live. They played right on through to 'Suffer for Fashion', and did a pretty good amount of tunes without letting up. Very high energy and the crowd was dancing to every second. The thing that was really interesting to me during the performance was the lighting effects. They had a projector running visuals, but then crew members would come on stage with large white discs and other shapes for the projectionist to screen images onto. The highlight of this was when Kevin Barnes was surrounded by screens and given wings with some really psychedelic patterns. Near the middle of the show, the band slowed the pace a bit with a country cover, along with 'Obsidian Currents'. Then, the energy was right back up to the ceiling.

After another small narration and surfing  through the crowd, Kevin Barnes led the band through a multi-song encore including high intensity versions of 'Gronlandic Edit', 'She's a Rejecter', 'Heimdalsgate like a Promethean Curse' and 'The Past is a Grotesque Animal'. 'Gronlandic Edit' in particular was amazing with all the vocal harmonies working so well, and the masked dancers were insane. The guitarists antics on 'Rejecter' were pretty impressive, where he jumped into a dancer's arms and kept playing without missing a beat.

On the way out, I stopped by the merch table, where I got a copy of the bassist Bob Parin's solo album (he was on fire that night) and a vinyl copy of Hissing Fauna. Icky Blossoms were also there selling their merch, and then (gasp) David Barnes just waltzes on through. I was super star struck. I probably sound like such a creeper, but it was awesome.

All in all, a great concert experience. Getting that close to the action was awesome, and I don't think I've ever been to show where you could get so close to the band. It was incredible.

Check in later for my opinion on The Waterfall, the newest effort by My Morning Jacket, who I'll also be seeing soon. That should be fun.


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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.

"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."