Goodbye Blogspot!

After a long dry spell on this blog, I've come to the realization that the format of random album reviews has me uninspired to keep on posting. But rather than quit altogether, I decided to start a new music blog on Tumblr where I'll be focusing on new music that I'm really passionate about. There will still be some reviews, although probably shorter and less analytical, the purpose of this new blog will be to share new music with other music lovers, as well as continuing to be an outlet for my own obsession.

Reviewing random albums was a challenge, and it was fun for a little while. But I'm simply too caught up with new music to keep on digging into the archives of my music library and often forcing myself to care. Thanks to anyone who read and/or enjoyed my blog posts on this site, and I hope you follow me into the new year with my new blog at http://headphonereverence.tumblr.com

Something New

This weekend I'll be driving through the Rockies to Canada's mystical rain-drenched land of live music and seafood: Vancouver. It's BeatRoute Magazine's 5 year anniversary, and to celebrate they're throwing a party, a weekend-long festival to be exact. I'm driving all this way to see one band in particular: United Nations. It's not that I'm some snob who is only gonna show up for one band at a festival. Sadly it's a matter of getting time off work and travelling from 10 hours away. But for those in the area, I'm envious. The entire weekend looks packed with amazing artists and live sets.

Regardless, I believe this is gonna be one kick-ass show and as such I'm going to try my first live show review. If this goes well and I have fun writing it, I might try some local write-ups when I get back. Who knows? The world is my oyster. Here's a jaw-dropping track from UN's latest masterpiece, The Next Four Years.

New Jay Rock Track - "Pay for It"

Jay Rock, the oft overlooked member of the Top Dawg Entertainment crew, has just dropped a new track which features fellow TDE label mate Kendrick Lamar as well as singer Chantal. Jay Rock's 2011 album Follow Me Home was one of my favourite TDE debuts, channeling some classic West Coast gangster rap vibes and really showcasing Jay Rock's unapologetic tell-it-like-it-is personality. So of course Jay Rock's next album has been my most anticipated of the new crop of TDE releases this year. After listening to "Pay for It" I feel even more assured that this guy's next album is going to be Epic with a capital E.

Jay Rock is an enterprising artist, and with some incredibly sombre violins and pianos behind this track it seems that he is unafraid of moving into new sonic territory. Not only is the track very different from anything on Follow Me Home, but Jay Rock's gravelly voice seems to fit perfectly overtop a slow moving track like this one. Typically Kendrick seems to be a show stealer when he's featured on a track, but on this one I can't help but give Jay Rock's aggressive verses my full attention. Give it a listen and get stoked for a second studio album, hopefully soon!

Pianos Become The Teeth - New Album Out Soon

Pianos Become The Teeth are a band I was introduced to at the same time as a number of other post-screamo bands. La Dispute, Touche Amore and Ruiner were just a few similar bands that I got really into during this time, and as a result PBTT kind of slipped through the cracks as just another group riding this wave.

However, with a brand new album on the horizon (Keep You is dropping on Oct 28th) things have apparently taken an interesting turn. The song Repine shows a band who've decided to change their sound dramatically by losing the screaming and the hardcore song structure in exchange for some beautiful post-rock guitar builds and fantastic clean vocals. PBTT gained my interest earlier this year when their rhythm section collaborated with United Nations on their amazing new album The Next Four Years. But with this new effort, Pianos have earned my full and undivided attention. Check out Repine above, and stream the entire album over at Pitchfork right now!

42Ghosts // Death Grips - Triple Ex Military (2012)

42Ghosts - Triple Ex Military (2012)

If I were to describe the outlandish hip-hop art project that is Death Grips in one word, especially to someone who may be expecting, well... hip-hop, I'd probably use the term unconventional. Before becoming an overnight internet sensation, blowing up on media sites like Pitchfork and YouTube review channels like The Needle Drop, Death Grips released a groundbreaking album titled Ex Military early on in 2011. The debut featured a lunatic known as MC Ride (Stefan Burnett) spitting some twisted and head-scratching rhymes overtop of some equally dark and twisted beats from the minds of drummer Zach Hill (who's own impressive back catalogue is well-revered by critics) and producer Andy "Flatliner" Morin. But with their latest couple of releases, Death Grips (who recently announced their disbandment) have become a bit predictably unpredictable. Which is why a remix album like 42Ghosts' Triple Ex Military is so exciting to listen to.

There is no shortage of remixed Death Grips material, and much of it attempts to "out-weird" the group themselves. Take the Much Love Deep Web series of mash-ups that paired MC Ride's aggressive rap with the musical stylings of artists like Marvin Gaye or Elton John. But if we're being honest with ourselves, as funny as these artists may sound overtop of one another, mashups like these are pretty difficult to enjoy. This makes Triple Ex Military something remarkable: a Death Grips remix that doesn't suck, isn't ironic, and is something with a completely original sound of its own. Essentially, what 42Ghosts have done with select tracks from the original Ex Military is chop up, splice, speed up and slow down MC Ride's vocals overtop of some fantastic and (surprise!) highly conventional hip-hop beats.

The most important thing that 42Ghosts do in re- configuring Ex Military is that they treat MC Ride's vocals as any other instrument or sound to be sampled on the album. On this remix, Ride is even less intelligible than normal with his voice being sped up and chopped up to match some very groove-oriented beats. The track Blood Creepin takes Ride's wailing "Ohh woah-oo-whoa-oo-whoa!"(and not much else) from the original song, and mixes it over a classic organ piano sample to become one of the catchiest hooks on the album. Other mind-blowing tracks include Klink, a wobbly off-kilter bass line with a creepy vibe that couldn't sound more different from the original track. Takyon is another song that made me do a double take, I had to go back and listen to the original track again and pair it against the remix just to make sure I was hearing the same song. Culture Shock, Spread Eagle Across the Block and I Want It I Need It also get a grimy boom-bap makeover that turns them into entirely new and original songs with value that goes beyond simply being Death Grips remixes.

Triple Ex Military is by far the best Death Grips remix I have heard so far. It's a perfect album for  whenever you're tired out from Death Grips' pure experimental energy and just want to bump to something you can easily nod your head to. 42Ghosts have taken Death Grips' unclassifiable and innovative sound and appropriated it for their own means, which really makes this more of their own project. Much like when I listen to a cover song, I hope for a new and different take on a familiar song. I don't want to hear someone do their most accurate impression of the artist they're covering or I'd go to the nearest karaoke bar. 42Ghosts take ownership of Triple Ex Military, and the result is something fresh.

Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006)

Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006)

This review was a bit of a challenge for me. It's been a long time since I've listened to anything from this album, and all I could remember was that I used to consider Blood Mountain to be a standout record amongst Mastodon's discography; but I could not for the life of me remember why that was. Upon listening to it again I've gathered a few thoughts, but my perception has definitely changed a bit in eight years.

First off, the reason I have fond memories of Blood Mountain isn't because I was in love with the album as a whole (something I definitely realized after playing it from start to finish). It's because there are some kick-ass Mastodon tracks on this thing that I almost forgot existed until I heard them blasting through my ears once again. Songs like the opener The Wolf is Loose kick things off with a relentless barrage of rolling drums and metal riffage. Other album highlights include Sleeping Giant which has this incredibly beautiful reverb-soaked guitar hook that I could happily listen to for days. The song remains incredible up until the very end where it seems to be interrupted by an awkwardly chunky guitar riff and some pretty dorky sounding spoken word vocals. Circle of Cysquatch, Hunters of the Sky, and Hand of Stone were also songs that I could instantly jam to even after so many years. All of these songs reminded me why Blood Mountain stood out in my memory as my go-to Mastodon record.

Although I do love a handful of tracks on Blood Mountain, I can't say I really enjoy this thing as a whole. The reason has to do with the fact that Mastodon lean towards the more prog and musically technical side of stoner metal, and much like my least favourite prog-rock acts (aka. Dream Theatre and Rush) they tend to wander into jam-session mode; which to me gives off a look-what-I-can-do kind of vibe whilst leaving the listener bored out of their socks. And while technically Mastodon are very proficient musicians, the end result of this musical masturbation are songs like Bladecatcher and Capillarian Crest, the former of which sounds like it could have been a cutting room floor instrumental track, and the latter of which was so jam-packed with guitar solos that I struggled to listen to it all the way through. These songs just don't hold my attention the way that Mastodon do when they're playing heavy, sludgy hooks or beautiful ear-buggy harmonies.

The only other thought I came up with while listening to Blood Mountain is that Mastodon don't seem to have any agenda behind their music aside from being creative purely for creativity's sake. This is totally cool, their songs are as bright, colourful and detailed as their album covers and are often quite enjoyable. However, this doesn't really inspire any kind of a mood or atmosphere for me the way that similar artists like Baroness have proven capable of with their latest albums. Instead, the only "atmosphere" that comes to mind when I listen to Mastodon is one of being surrounded by long hair, epic beards and denim jackets that smell like weed. And that's totally cool too. But the marker I tend to use when distinguishing good music from great music is the artists ability to put me in a headspace, to build an atmosphere and to offer a real listening experience that stays with me long after the last track has finished.

This has turned into a pretty long-winded review so I'm going to end it here. All in all, Blood Mountain showcases some of my favourite Mastodon songs, but taken as a whole it kind of turns into a snooze fest for me. Regardless, I still think Blood Mountain can serve as a good introduction to anyone who is new to the band or metal music in general.

Pygmy Lush - Old Friends (2011)

Pygmy Lush - Old Friends (2011)

Wow I didn't mean to take this long of a break from reviewing albums, but things come up and people get busy, that's just how shit goes. Anyway it feels good to be writing again, and it feels even better to be reviewing Old Friends, the third studio album by Virginia noisecore act turned folk outfit Pygmy Lush. This album not only sees the band leave their hardcore roots completely in the dust (three of the members used to play for Pg.99) in favour of an all out acoustic indie-folk sound, but it is also their most mature and well-constructed album yet. Old Friends is the album where Pygmy Lush finally seem to discover their sound: warm and beautiful americana-soaked indie folk.

Not only is Old Friends probably the best Pygmy Lush album to date, I also think it happens to be one hell of a Fall season album. Its beautifully mixed acoustic guitar harmonies and slightly bluesy folk music vibe give it enough warmth for summer, while its melancholic lyrics and relatively down-tempo pace make it sound almost cold enough for winter. On Old Friends, Pygmy Lush find this perfect balance between emotions of peaceful bliss and lingering sadness, stick with it throughout the whole album, and in the end they absolutely nail the atmosphere that they seem to have been going for. I dare you to listen to a track like Night at the Johnstown Flood and not feel totally at ease with your life, while at the same time the song's lyrics impart some obscure sense of loss. As reverberating vocals sing "can't stay up all night and I can't see you anymore" it seems unclear what exactly was lost, but the melancholy nature of Old Friends carries through every song, even on its warmest and most upbeat tracks.

As far as standout tracks go, it's difficult to choose with an album as solid and holistic as Old Friends. But a few songs stood out as the most memorable to me on repeat listens. Chance seems to hold its own as a highlight of the album. With an incredibly catchy acoustic hook and some absolutely gorgeous harmonies, Chance is probably my favourite song on the album. It feels all at once beautifully self-assured with a soaring acoustic harmony, and lyrically trepidatious with a chorus that ends with "we don't have a chance to heal ourselves." Other fantastic songs include the aforementioned Night at the Johnstown Flood, Penny On My Deathbed (the most pensively sad song of the album), Admit, and In A Well. But if you like these individual songs, chances are you're going to listen to and love the entire album anyway.

I'm not sure what other praises I can sing to recommend buying and listening to this album as soon as humanly possible. Like always, you can follow the link below the album artwork to sample a song from the record for yourself.

Do like I do, put your headphones on and go for a long walk through the falling leaves on a warm night with Old Friends as your soundtrack. God knows this season doesn't last long in Calgary, so get to it!