Ghostface Killah - Twelve Reasons to Die
There was a 0% chance I wasn't going to like this. Combining one of the most inventive rappers working today with the bombast of Adrian Younge, the producer behind the Black Dynamite soundtrack and the previously covered Delfonics album, is a strategy that just works. This album is actually the first concept album Ghostface has ever done, and the hyperviolent story of a mobster who returns from the grave to exact revenge upon his murderers is given a grimy, grindhouse-influenced aural backdrop by Younge. Here's hoping these two continue working together.
Selections
Enemies All Around Me
Charli XCX - True Romance
Honestly, I was expecting this album to be a hell of a lot more disposable than it is. Charli XCX first appeared on my radar when she wrote and appeared on Icona Pop's song "I Love It," and though this is the debut album from the 20 year old English singer-songwriter, she's actually been making music for at least four years now. Perhaps it's that lengthy experience that allows for such a confident debut.
The album fits comfortably within the pop genre, but everything is just atmospheric and ethereal enough to stand out from other Top 40 acts, all while boasting an impressively deep number of catchy hooks and memorable choruses. There isn't very much filler on this 13 track album, an impressive enough pop achievement in and of itself. Fans of Robyn, Elle Goulding, Marina and the Diamonds, and other similar electropop acts should give this album a listen.
Selections
Nuclear Seasons
Grins
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
I think lead single "Sacrilege" is the best track on the album, but this is another consistent effort by a band whose albums consistently entertain me. I think this is probably the most diverse album within the band's catalog, with big rockers that are usually more self-consciously silly than aggressive, moody atmospheric songs, and straightforward ballads. This isn't the album I would start with for someone oblivious of Yeah Yeah Yeahs (that would probably be Fever to Tell), but I doubt fans will be disappointed with this.
Selections
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Slave
The Shouting Matches - Grownass Man
Hmm. Maybe Justin Vernon is actually kinda cool. Here he is able to lighten up with two long-time friends also in the indie game (Phil Cook of Megafaun and Brian Moen of Peter Wolf Crier), and the result is a surprisingly competent, enjoyably easygoing blues-rock album. Like almost every blues-rock album since the beginning of time, I tend to think that you start to reach diminishing returns before the conclusion of the album, but as a goof of a side project (and I mean goof in the best possible way), this album has its moments.
Selections
Heaven Knows
Singles Section
Mayer Hawthrorne - "Designer Drug"
Mayer Hawthorne is back. He seems to be going for a little bit more of a disco-y 70's feel than the Motown homage of How Do You Do that I personally loved so, but this is still a good single and I'm excited for his album.
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