Album Review: Kanye West – Yeezus

Posted on June 20, 2013 by bgibs122

“Now what?”

That’s a pretty fair question to pitch at the end of Kanye’s last album, 2010’s declared-masterpiece-on-arrival My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. That album was a culmination of everything he had done before it, but it didn’t exactly leave itself room to improve. It was a sprawling, meticulously orchestrated, and lyrically conscientious album; ramping these qualities up wouldn’t go anywhere. It was the kind of album that dictated its own masterpiece status since, well, it was made to be one. But, as the last second of the record came to a close, you had to ask, “Now what?” The expectations on Yeezus were high before the album was even recorded.

Yeezus meets those expectations by subverting them. Almost everything about the album: the no-fanfare prerelease, the relatively brief 40 minute length, the lack of the cover art, and the music itself, is aggressively minimalist and borderline user-unfriendly. MBDTF was apologetic at times, and spent plenty of tape with Kanye pondering Kanye. With Yeezus, he’s not explaining himself to anyone; if anything, he’s railing against you.

But, we’ll get back to what he’s saying in a moment. From a production standpoint, Yeezus is near immaculate. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t cold and robotic, though; sawing basslines, tortured synths, and twisted samples are the order of the day, but it’s compelling noise. The extended outro on “Hold My Liquor” saves an otherwise mediocre track, and minimal numbers like “New Slaves” and “I’m In It” get downright sinister. The production is high quality, but not quite perfect; some of the ideas just don’t develop (“Guilt Trip” is pretty but inconsequential, while “Send It Up” veers on annoying).

Much has been made of executive producer/hip-hop legend Rick Rubin stripping down the album’s sound and Daft Punk leading the production on four of Yeezus‘ tracks. DP’s tracks are among the strongest here: opener “On Sight” is a two and a half minute clipped synth assault with a batshit (but kind of brilliant) soul sample in the middle. The punk and industrial influence on “Black Skinhead” channels Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” with its beat, and Nine Inch Nails in brute synth strength. Between the production and one of West’s best performances on the album, it’s arguably the best song here. “I Am a God”, all deep bass and spastic synths, splits the difference between the two, whereas “Send It Up” sees how much it can stretch and bend a noise before it shatters.

The samples for Yeezus come fairly obscure and eclectic. Most are treated and processed beyond recognition, but a few lay bare, especially on “Blood on the Leaves”. The backbone of the song comes from Nina Simone’s version of “Strange Fruit”, before TNGHT’s song “R U Ready”–all gigantic horns–comes crashing into Simone’s vocal and Kanye’s AutoTuned singing. It’s a cluster of a song, but is unmatched on Yeezus for sheer insanity. After an album of industrial/acid house beats and electronics, “Bound 2” is in The College Dropout mode: a simple looped soul sample (in this case from “Bound” by Ponderosa Twins Plus One). Charlie Wilson provides the vocals for a buzz-synth bridge, but even that feels warm and cozy. It’s an out of place song, but the carefree feel of the track, it’s comfort food on an otherwise challenging album.

Then we get to Kanye himself. Complaining about Kanye’s arrogance or ego feels years late at this point, but it almost feels obfuscating at times; the guy is painfully self-aware. “I Am a God” brags plenty about bringing real rap back and being compared to Michael Jackson, but it also feels like Kanye fucking with us (no straight-laced person actually writes “I am a god/so hurry up with damn massage/In a French-ass restaurant/HURRY UP WITH MY DAMN CROISSANTS!”). “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” concern themselves with 21st century race politics; despite his status, Kanye still sees African-Americans getting treated as second class citizens (“Middle America packed in/Came to see me in my black skin”, “‘What you want, a Bentley? Fur coat? A diamond chain?/All you blacks want all the same things'”).

At the same time, it feels like he spends chunks of Yeezus coasting. Rick Rubin made mention that Kanye recorded the bulk of the lyrics at the last minute for the album, and it shows. Especially after the first four songs, the lyrical quality drops off, mostly sticking to rote subjects without any major insights, or even that much entertainment. It’d be more interesting if these songs weren’t all clumped together, but Yeezus loses focus as it goes on, only redeeming itself with “Bound 2”.

As weird as it sounds, Yeezus has a kindred spirit in another album released this year: indie band Deerhunter’s Monomania. Both albums are following career highpoints, and duck expectations by taking a noisier “Don’t think, just do” approach. Both Kanye and Deerhunter are too smart to make a bad album, but they definitely get the “good” here, and not the “great”. I don’t think Yeezus is going to hurt Kanye’s reputation going forward; “Black Skinhead” and “Bound 2” are key cuts, but I wouldn’t say it’s destined for classic status. Three and a half stars out of five.

tl;dr: Yeezus arrives overthought and undercooked, 3.5/5

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New Music: Adventures – Clear My Head With You (EP)

Posted on June 19, 2013 by bgibs122

There’s a certain fluidity to bands; it’s not unheard of for a member or members to bounce between groups while working out different sounds. Such is the case with Pittsburgh band Adventures, a group that formed last year, and consists of few members of hardcore group Code Orange Kids as well as some of their friends. The band released a 7″ EP last September, and Clear My Head With You, out yesterday through No Sleep Records, is their second release.

Outings like Clear My Head With You are win-wins for fans and artists: the fans are getting new music from a young group with a small catalog, and the artist gets to explore their sound more and more. And, over the course of this EP’s four songs and eleven minute runtime, it’s easy to get the feeling of a band flexing some new found muscle. Adventures doesn’t revel in Code Orange Kids’ hardcore past, but you can hear that influence in the band’s palm-muted guitars and lumbering tempos. The belted vocals, tight instrumentation, and sky’s the limit riffs are all Adventures, and some of the EP’s strongest elements.

Even at just four songs ranging from a minute and a half to not quite three and a half minutes, the tracks sound fully formed. Opener “I Can’t Stay” is a great point of entry; the song has the same loud-soft approach as the rest of Clear My Head With You, but sounds the most celebratory of the bunch, the lightest. The vocals yearn and stretch words almost to their breaking point, but never overdo it, and hit the sweet spot between singing and yelling to great effect.

The creative direction of Adventures is only known to them, but I’d guess that they see a future in the cathartic, riff-heavy, anthem-style songcraft that is “Promises”. It’s the most dynamic song here with tightly wound sections leading into the EP’s most epic stretches. All of the EP is fully formed, but the structure and deliberate size of “Promise” make it sound more planned than the other cuts. I’m sure it’s a great one to hear live, too.

The second half of Clear My Head With You is more experimental and more sparse. Closing tune “The Light Brings Without” has the cleanest sound of anything here, and the guitar arrangements and prominent bass throughout are almost hypnotic (think Microcastle-era Deerhunter). There’s still plenty of the murkiness from the rest of the EP present, but balancing it with the blissful atmosphere of “The Light Brings Without” helps strengthen both. The song’s foil, the title track, begins in waves of noise, and the slowburning crunch barely lets up over the song’s three minute run. Under the layers of distortion, taut bass, pummeling drums, and outright distress, “Clear My Head With You” is something of a ballad, and the EP’s emotional center.

From a lyrical standpoint, Clear My Head With You is a very introspective and searching album. There are multiple references to home, searching, and of course, that you. For being relatively light on words, there’s still the feeling of a story being told: “I Can’t Stay” ends with the titular declaration, whereas “The Light Brings Without” dejectedly comes back home. The sense of wandering is made stronger by the music, which can sound like it stretches far and wide, but insular all the same. There’s a lot of thinking going on here.

But, lots of progress all the same. Adventures’ first EP was enjoyable, but had the nervous energy of a band just starting to play together; everyone was having fun while making something good, but it felt a little loose at the same time. Meanwhile Clear My Head With You is a more articulate, expressive, and distinct effort. Its short runtime and engaging songs make relistens very easy, and there’s always a little more to explore in each song. Here’s to more from Adventures from here on out.

Stream or buy Clear My Head With You on Adventures’ bandcamp page!

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On Yr. Radar #6

Posted on June 13, 2013 by bgibs122

We’re back with the latest edition of “On Yr. Radar”, a sampler of some of the best new music I’ve been sent lately. These selections were handpicked, and wouldn’t be here if I wouldn’t play them for myself or my friends. Click the artist – song name to stream any of these great tracks, and keep in touch with anyone you hear and like!

Black Light Dinner Party – Your Drums, Your Love (AlunaGeorge Cover)
The original single by AlunaGeorge might have registered as a Best New Music at P4k, but I’m more partial to Black Light Dinner Party’s more rhythmic and fully formed take on it. This R&B tinged, hip-hop beat friendly type of synthpop has been in the indie wheelhouse for awhile, but “Your Drums, Your Love” stands out on its slowburning chorus of smooth synths and cooing vocals (not to mention being immensely catchy). Even better, Black Light Dinner Party have it on their Facebook page as a free download. Fans of Purity Ring will want to give this a spin.

Alice and the Glass Lake – Higher
“Higher”, off of Alice and the Glass Lake’s new EP The Evolution EP, is a fitting name for a song that sounds eternally floating. Alice Lake’s ethereal vocals and harmonies reach out in every direction while a martial drum beat keeps the song grounded. Piano and shimmering guitar creep in and out of the song’s atmosphere, and a darker bassline adds tension and a dark undercurrent to the song’s light and breezy appearance. If you’re Bonnaroo bound, check out Alice and the Glass Lake live on Sunday. The rest of us can preview and buy The Evolution EP on iTunes.

Bobby V – Back to Love
R&B artist Bobby V’s been making music since 2005, and “Back to Love”, the lead single from his upcoming EP Peach Moon, is loaded with consummate professionalism, but never at the expense of the music. The easy beat is a headbopper, and the instrumentation of piano detailed with horns and soulful guitar is nothing but classy and effortlessly cool. V’s a showman through and through, guiding the loose track through soulful vocals. Check Bobby out on Facebook, or get “Back to Love” on iTunes.

Mixtapes – C.C.S.
I’m inclined to root for fellow Cincinnatians, and pop-punk group Mixtapes only makes the job easier. The group has made for itself by cranking out one to three minute confessionals disguised as obscenely catchy and likeable songs. Last year’s Even on the Worst Nights distilled a slew of splits and EPs into a universally aclaimed record, and Mixtapes looks to continue the winning streak with this year’s Ordinary Silence. “C.C.S.” slows the band’s normal pace somewhat, but puts the focus entirely on the lyrics, which focuses on self-reflection and improvement, even if doing better is “temporary”. Ordinary Silence is up for pre-order at No Sleep Records’ site.

Rob Moir – Places to Die (Before You See The World)
Folk punk’s a genre that lends itself well to one-man anthems, and Rob Moir’s “Places to Die” more than fits the bill. Moir’s song about freedom and mortality is loaded with Springsteen-inspired working man lyrics, and is backed by an acoustic/electric guitar duo and stomping drums. By the time he gets to his last cries of “I don’t wanna die in a hospital”, you’re chanting along with him. Stream or buy his new album Places to Die here.

Cusses – Worst Enemy (+Fundraising opportunity)
“Worst Enemy” is one of the several explosive, arena-alternative rock cuts off Cusses LP1. The record is an exercise in rock and roll mythos, and Cusses deliver the songs and the attitude to make LP1 more than hero worship; they don’t want to revel in rock legacy, they want to add to it. Of course, they’re a rock band, so their idea of “adding to legacy” is bashing out ten manic rock songs without refusing to take a breath between riffs. Cusses are looking to Kickstarter to get LP2 off the ground. If want to hear more, give their excellent first album a listen, and ignore your Starbucks for a day to give a few bucks to LP2. I know I did.

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Radio Rant: P!nk feat. Nate Ruess – Just Give Me a Reason

Posted on June 10, 2013 by bgibs122

Hello, and welcome to Radio Rants. Do I have to…?

I typically don’t mind P!nk (from here out “Pink”, because I’m not going to remember the exclamation point every time); she’s been part of some three or four Radio Rants now, and I still don’t groan when I see her name on a single, which is more than I can say for others. She’s generally fun to listen to, and brings more personality to her songs than most. Hell, she was able to weather most of the 00s without becoming a Stepford smiler barely interested in her career or a wash-up that can’t find a way to stay musically relevant; even her post greatest-hits album The Truth About Love has been well-received with hits of its own.

And, sadly, one of those hits is “Just Give Me a Reason”. I’m late to the party on this one, which went to the top of the charts while I was on leave from blogging. I’m not going to say that this song was the reason that I stopped, but it certainly didn’t inspire me to share my thoughts on it. What am I supposed to say here? It’s is the B-/C+ of songwriting: the production is sleepy, the vocals are stiff, the hook barely exists, and the lyrics are dispassionate. It isn’t so much bad as much as it is painfully boring.

Alright, let’s crunch the facts on this one. Pink and Ruess, along with producer Jeff Bhasker, got the writing credit here, so we’re working without any mercenary songwriters or producers. Bhasker’s most relevant set of credentials come from producing Ruess’ band fun.’s Some Nights. His overblown, “everything’s an anthem” sound brought some pomp and size to that band’s crowd-friendly eccentricity, but the programmed drum and piano combo in “Just Give Me a Reason” plods along without excitement, and the vocals sound too soft somehow.

One of the more unsettling parts of “Just Give Me a Reason” is how tame Pink sounds. She’s barely paying attention on this song, and I’m not just saying that because she doesn’t rasp and wail, but her voice is too stately and stiff. There’s no presence here that she’s had in her other ballads. Human squakbox Nate Ruess sounds a little awkward here as well, like he’s not used to singing this American Idol straight. On a more lively song, these two might have more chemistry than a nice harmony here and there, but on something this formal, they sound like a bad blind date that keeps finding nothing in common.

This just doesn’t sound like a number one hit. I’ve been doing Radio Rants for awhile now, and every now and then, I’ve noticed that we’ll get sort of a filler number one hit: a workmanlike song by a long established artist that gets to number one through pre-established fame, and lack of another option at the moment. These songs tend to linger in the top ten going both up and down until cresting at number one for one to three weeks until the next smash is fully ready. Like, you guys remember that one Pitbull single “Give Me Everything”? That was no. 1 for the week it took “Party Rock Anthem” to build enough steam after “Rolling in the Deep” finally burnt itself out. “Just Give Me a Reason” feels like it was a space filler between “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us”; it’s not a bad song, but if Pink’s name wasn’t attached to it, I doubt it would have crested this high.

Yeah, I’m not attached to this one. The meaning to the song, fixing broken relationships, is a different and refreshing idea to the pop charts, but there’s not enough in the execution to make “Just Give Me a Reason” anything but a dull hit that won’t be remembered a year from now. It doesn’t even sound like a proper montage song, it’s more like something they’d play halfway through the credits just to get everyone out. Just give me a reason to care.

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