Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow

Some really conscious, soulful, and entertaining hip-hop. Gift of Gab has fantastic lyricism, covering a good amount of topics. Take "Sky Is Falling" for example; he raps about a ton of global/social problems, accompanied by a TV show theme-esque chorus which depicts a catastrophic world downfall. Another great example is the title track, in which he lays down (e.g. "Amazin' phase your days your hazy ways my Blazin' Arrow / The rays that range from Asia way to Rio de Janeiro" / etc.). And on top of all that, he has a very versatile flow -- violently fast when he wishes ("Chemical Calisthenics"... crazy shit), sometimes slow, and maybe even satirical at times.

The work of Chief Xcel (the DJ/producer here) isn't really anything new, but it's something I enjoy. West coast hip-hop, soul, R&B, and funk thrown into a blender.

74 minutes of hip-hop is kinda long for me, and a couple of songs on this album don't catch my attention as much as the others. Still worth checking out, if you want to look into hip-hop with some thought-provoking subjects and lyrics.


Listen to:
- Blazing Arrow
- Sky is Falling
- First in Flight
- Make You Feel That Way
- Chemical Calisthenics
- Release (features guests Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine fame, Saul Williams, Lyrics Born, and Sela Kerr)

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030

Weird?
Definitely.
Amazing?
Hell yeah.

Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Dan the Automator, & Kid Koala present us with this fantastic album, set in the year 3030. As you can infer from such a title, Deltron 3030 has a futuristic and extraterrestrial theme. Del spits some really original and innovative rhymes, while maintaining said theme. Now you may think that the only subjects covered are the future ones, but Del actually covers a wide spectrum of topics, especially current (20th/21st century) global issues. Really creative lyricism that is sometimes light-hearted and sometimes conscious.

Dan the Automator lays down some really cool, chill beats, with Kid Koala doing some scratches here and there. They are dense and full of sound. Dan constructs his beats with some really cool samples and sounds, e.g. epic orchestra and slide guitar on "3030", and trumpet sampling on "Memory Loss".

It's a little too long for my liking, but that may change over time since these lyrics are, *ahem*, out of this world.


Check out:
- 3030
- Positive Contact
- Virus
- Mastermind
- Turbulence (Remix)

Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children

Unique, abstract, innovative, trippy, entertaining IDM. Unlike anything you've ever listened to. The Sandison bros. use a variety of weird sounds to craft their atmospheres and beats. This album is arranged in an interesting way; beat-oriented IDM tracks with ambient interlude tracks in between.
The beat-oriented songs are really fucking cool. As mentioned, they are complex beats constructed with tons of weird noises and sounds. They also have a hip-hop edge to them (see: "Roygbiv"), just the way I like my IDM. The ambient songs are nice breaks in between the intense beat tracks. Yes, I like to think of them as breaks but they are definitely not filler tracks since Boards of Canada is able to keep them interesting. Take "Olson" for example -- it's short, simple, sweet, and has a beautiful melody.

One of my all-time favourite albums. Check this one out if you're feeling adventurous.


Songs to look out for:
- Turquoise Hexagon Sun
- Olson
- Roygbiv
- Rue the Whirl
- Smokes Quantity
- Happy Cycling

Gas - Pop

Seven tracks of fantastic ambient. Why was the name "Pop" chosen? I have no idea. But this record has nothing to do with pop music.
The album starts without hesitation -- ambient loops, reminiscent of rain. Perfect for a rainy day. The following two tracks envelop the listener in ambience. The fourth track is where it gets interesting (if this is the first Gas album you listen to); a steady pulsating bass drum is added. This is where Gas gets his "ambient techno" label, if you have ever wondered. The two "techno" tracks, four and seven, are absolutely hypnotic. They have the drum beat added, but there are still wonderful layers of ambience.

glitchy ambient

I've been digging a ton of this shit recently.

Tim Hecker - Harmony In Ultraviolet
Tim Hecker - Mirages
Ulver - Lyckantropen Themes
Fennesz - Endless Summer
Fennesz - Venice
Oval - 94 Diskont
Belong - October Language

... *thumbs up*

Envy/Jesu - Split

Envy tracks
These three tracks are pretty much Envy's best songs yet. Each one captures so many emotions. "A Winter Quest For Fantasy" is definitely my favourite song here. The first five minutes of the song is a beautiful build-up, leading to the most intense minute and a half that I have ever heard (from Envy). The melodies on "Life Caught In The Rain" are fantastic, and are on a "happier" side as opposed to the two other tracks before it. "Conclusion of Existence" provides some nice electronic experimentation, as well as some encompassing orchestral work.


Jesu tracks
These two songs are decent. Just decent. And nothing more. Being a fan of Jesu's older work for a long time, it's safe to say that this is not the best music that Jesu has put out. The tracks aren't terrible (or anything of that matter), they're just not very engaging and they seem to drag on for a while. ________________________________________________________

All Envy tracks are worth listening to. Jesu tracks... not so much.

Common - Be

Here is a(nother) great album from Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. Deep, meaningful, and gripping lyrics, accompanied by soulful and absolutely wonderful beats. The double bass line and synth melody from the first track should have you hooked.


Check out (in this order): Faithful, Be, The Corner

Common - Resurrection

Some outstanding hip-hop. Sadly, Common will probably not be known for this album very much due to it's poor sales, since two of hip-hop's most important albums (Nas' Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die) were released in the same year.
Anyways, this album is fucking filled to the brim with some seriously fucking intelligent, and often times hilarious wordplay. It's that crazy. I would post some lines, but I'm afraid that I would end up displaying every lyric on the album.
And now for the beats. Just the way I like them, super jazzy. If your attention is not grabbed within the first 10 seconds of this album, then simply put, you suck. No I.D. finds perfect samples for Resurrection. On the first track, "Resurrection", he samples a short improvised piano phrase from Ahmad Jamal's "Dolphin Dance", and it fits the song just ever so perfectly.


Listen to:
- Resurrection
- I Used To Love H.E.R.
- Watermelon
- Communism
- Chapter 13 (Rich Man vs. Poor Man)

Vehemence - God Was Created

God Was Created is one unique album. It is a metal album played in the style of melodic death metal, but it sounds nothing like the European brand of melodic death metal, e.g. Dark Tranquillity & In Flames. Vehemence plays a technical style while crafting some really original and gripping melodies. Personally, death metal albums as long as this one (running time of one hour) tend to lose my interest, but God Was Created is a very interesting album throughout, and it has not bored me since I discovered it about a year ago.
Unfortunately, the production isn't perfect and could have used some improvement. Everything is audible, but the overall sound quality is kinda "meh".
Nonetheless, amazing album.



Check out: Made For Her Jesus, She Never Noticed Me, Fantasy From Pain, I Must Not Live

Disavowed - Perceptive Deception

Chaotic, fast-paced death metal á la old-school Suffocation, straight from the Netherlands. Tight and wild drumming done by Romain Goulon; chug-heavy guitar-work by, um, the two guitarists; and a rough, unintelligible vocal style by Robbe Kok (LOL). The songs may sound a bit same-y as you near the end of the album, but overall, Perceptive Deception is an entertaining listen.

Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous

Definitive hip-hop. This may sound outrageous, but I really don't think any other hip-hop artist/album is worth listening to after hearing this. This is all I could ever expect in hip-hop. Frequent wordplay, "oh shit nigga!"-inducing punchlines, descriptive storytelling, and of course, jazz-oriented beats.

I wouldn't care if the beats were taken out of this album and only rapping was left over. Seriously. The rhymes are insane. They're hilarious, hardcore, violent, creative, witty, etc. Take "No Endz, No Skinz" for example. The song basically says that if you don't got the money, you won't scoop the honeys. "They wanna know why I'm so fly / A girl aksed (intentional misspelling, lol blacks) me for a ring and I put one around her whole eye". LOL. And now for L's violent side -- here's a line from Danger Zone, which is about the crime-heavy area of New York that he represents: "Always sprayin' Tecs, 'cuz I be stayin' vexed / Some nigga named Dex was in the projects layin' threats / I jumped out the Lincoln, left him stinkin' / Put his brains in the street, now you could see what he was just thinkin'". Damn. Street Struck is quite the interesting song. The message of it is summed up in these lines: "Brothers be on the corners, actin' stupid, gettin' lifted / They life is twisted, and most of them are quite gifted / In other words, they got talent / but they'd rather sell cracks and bust gats and run the streets actin' violent".

As mentioned, the beats on Lifestylez are very jazzy. Jazzy beats are the shit. No Endz, No Skins and Danger Zone have the best beats on the album. 'nuff said.

See how passionate I am about this album? It's truly amazing.


Listen to:
- MVP
- No Endz, No Skinz
- Danger Zone
- Street Struck
- Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous

GZA - Pro Tools

Goddamn, Gary Grice is decrepit as shit. He sounds as dead as a fucking mummy on this album.

But hey, that's only his flow. The GZA The Genius still manages to write some of the most creative and inventive lyrics in hip-hop. Take 0% Finance for example - it's a story about this ho (pretty much), but GZA incorporates many names of vehicles in the lyrics.

Can't say much about the beats. They're pretty minimalistic, yet decent. May sound sloppy at times.

This is a respectable album, but ever since Beneath The Surface, it's been clear that the Voltron Head will never release another Liquid Swords.


Tracks worth listening to: 0% Finance, Alphabets

Eluvium - Talk Amongst the Trees

One of the first ambient albums I ever listened to, and it still remains one of my favourite ambient albums. Matthew Cooper creates some beautiful soundscapes through guitar effects. The atmospheres created are so divine, it's hard to explain.
Part of why I adore this album so much is because of the first track, New Animals From The Air. In this track, layers and layers of guitar are added until you are encompassed with sound.
Sadly, the 17-minute "masterpiece", Taken, isn't really a masterpiece to me. The concept of the song is interesting but it runs on and on for 17 minutes.

In a nutshell: ambient bliss.



You can listen to New Animals From The Air here: http://www.temporaryresidence.com/descriptions/trr78.php