Category: Album Reviews

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The Game

Hoodmorning (No Typo)
Free digital mixtape

The Game doesn’t do things by halves. Not content with having a full album coming out this year [this month’s R.E.D.], he’s continued his habit of putting out extremely strong mixtapes, following Brake Lights and Purp & Patron with the free release of  Hoodmorning (No Typo).

The 20 track release, hosted as ever by DJ Skee, features a plethora of names which would make any aspiring rapper green with envy for their album, let along a line-up this strong on a mixtape. And it’s testament to Game’s talent that he continues to shine amongst all of his guests throughout the proceedings.

Whilst Hoodmorning is not the strongest of his mixtapes, tracks like Uncle Otis where he mimics Frank Ocean and Rick Ross and jokingly disses Jay-Z and seriously gives Kreayshawn a dressing down, showcase both his talent and humour, something he doesn’t get enough credit for.

Drug Test could easily be a track from the is-it-ever-coming-out Detox and features Dre and Snoop, Monster In My Head works where it shouldn’t and even Gucci Mane sounds decent [well, by his standards] on Wow. Infrared sees production from Cool & Dre, who very rarely deliver a dude and this beat is no exception, giving Game a beat to work off that wouldn’t be out of place on a Ghostface record.

Even though there are some tracks that are fairly forgettable [and inexplicable B.O.B. verse], it’s hard to be critical as this is a free mixtape and there’s enough on here to indicate that R.E.D. is going to be a heavyweight album. Clink that Candy Corona, Game deserves the toast.

Grab the mixtape right here.

Abjekt.

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The Men

Leave Home
Sacred Bones Records

While heavy guitar and punk music might not seem like the most sophisticated of genres, it’s a very difficult thing to do quite this well. Rock music has been passing me by a bit of late, so thank god for The Men, whose spectacular new album Leave Home has come out of nowhere and established itself as one of the best records of 2011.

Capturing this sort of intensity on a full length record is a rarity, especially over the course of 40 minutes when each song averages at about five minutes in length. It’s all well and good bashing out 12 songs in 20 minutes and retaining the listener’s attention, but Leave Home is a varied body of work that is exciting from start to finish. Over the course of the record The Men morph their sound into various different guises, drawing influence from the likes of Pissed Jeans, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Shellac and more.

Beginning with a couple of pretty much straight up rock tracks, by the third song it sounds almost as though the album has lost it’s temper. The vocals become shoutier, nastier even, while the instrumentation becomes increasingly more distorted and violent. This results in arguably the album’s standout track, L.A.D.O.C.H., which splits the record into two halves with it’s near incomprehensible rage. Sparse yet emphatic drums keep the song grounded among the surrounding feedback and doom laden guitars, while vocals reach levels of aggression that feel genuinely frightening. “The bringer of everything, nothing is here to stay,” screams vocalist Nick Chiericozzi as the track collapses around him. It’s stirring stuff.

The album’s second half has a few more hooks and is generally a little easier to digest, although just as powerful. Batallie is perhaps the highlight here (below), with its melodic post hardcore format and Guy Piccioto aping vocals. The following Shitting with the Shah meanwhile, is the record’s most restrained moment, working more of a loud/quiet dynamic which offers some much needed relief, albeit covered in thick layers of distortion.

With such a broad range of different sounds on display, there should be something here for anyone with a taste for the heavier genres. Alongside Iceage’s superb debut album New Brigade, this is the proof that there’s still room for exciting, no frills rock music in 2011.

Sleekly Lion.

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Tech N9ne

All 6s and 7s
Strange Music

For the uninitiated, Tech N9ne is seen as more than just a rapper, he is an underground legend, a self proclaimed Riot Maker and Cult Leader and judging by the reaction he gets at his shows, these are titles you would find it hard to take away from him. From the awe struck faces of people in the front rows to the chaos breaking out in the mosh pits at the back (yes, mosh pits at a hip hop show), it is clear to see that Tech N9ne can never be claimed to be just a rapper.

A phenomenon then, would be a much more accurate description and with ‘All 6’s and 7’s’, Tech’s 13th full studio release, he has enlisted the help of some of hip hop’s biggest including Busta Rhymes, B.O.B and Lil’ Wayne to name but a few. Understandably, some long time fans have expressed concern about these guests being on the album, claiming that they were too mainstream and would dilute the raw, hardcore sound that they had grown so accustomed to.

Luckily, however, almost the exact opposite effect is achieved with B.O.B and Busta bringing possibly the best verses of their career’s to the table in ‘Am I A Psycho’ and ‘Worldwide Choppers’ respectively; Tech truly has managed to bring the best out of his guests and as he promised years ago, he ‘hasn’t turned mainstream, the mainstream has turned Tech’. The aforementioned ‘Worldwide Choppers’ is easily one of the highlights of Tech’s career, let alone this album, bringing Yelawolf, Busta Rhymes whose partially stuttered verse is definitely one of those all too rare moments that absolutely demand a rewind, Ceza who opening the track in his native Turkish, Twista and more all delivering extremely tight verses at the speed of light to avoid being outclassed by Tech (which is no easy task).

For many, Tech N9ne is at his most appealing when at his most introspective and there is no shortage of his trademark self loathing and apologetic lyrical content, most notably on ‘Mama Nem’ and‘If I Could’, the latter of which is a slower paced track featuring an outstanding cameo from Deftones that proves that Tech can still impress with his lyricism just as much as he can with his speed; although there is nothing quite as deep as ‘Suicide Letters’ or ‘This Ring’ from earlier in his career he is still a very open and honest lyricist on this records who isn’t afraid to bare his scars for his fans to see. There has also been a darker side to Tech throughout his career (listen to ‘Trapped in a Psycho’s Body’ from 2002’s Absolute Power for evidence of that) and this is also present on ‘All 6’s and 7’s as shown on ‘Am I a Psycho?’, which features an unusually raw B.O.B launching a scathing attack on Odd Future in his verse (another of the many highlights on this album) and where ‘Trapped in a Psycho’s Body’ may have been Tech’s ‘The Way I Am’, this track is his ‘Guilty Conscience’ with the split personality dialogue between B.O.B and himself taking centre stage.

Lil’ Wayne’s contribution to the album was one of the main talking points leading up to it’s release and it has to be said that ‘Fuck Food’ featuring Wayne and T-Pain hasn’t lived up to the hype, whilst still a solid track, Wayne’s verse feels tacked on and leaves you wondering Tech couldn’t just have recorded the song with himself and long time collaborator Krizz Kaliko who is in typically top form every time he opens his mouth on this record to similar, if not better effect. Still, whilst the song may not live up to the hype, the fact that Tech is now working with rappers as big as Wayne is a huge credit to his hard work over the 25+ years he’s been making music and possibly a path to the extra attention that Tech deserves for his talent and perseverance.

In summary, this is undoubtedly one of Tech’s best albums in which he doesn’t stray from his style despite the popularity of his collaborators, an issue that is accurately addressed on ‘Love Me Tomorrow’. Whilst there may be one or two tracks that could be cut from the album without detriment to the quality, there are highlights aplenty on this release and it’s sure to please the hardcore Technicians just as much as it would appeal to those who may not have heard of him before. The album ticks all the boxes except one, there’s still no collaboration with Bone Thugs n Harmony.

Ryan De Freitas.

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Mallory Knox

Pilot EP
Wolf At Your Door Records

Mallory Knox are a recent addition to the excellent and ever growing Wolf At Your Door Records roster and on the evidence of this EP they are on to something special. From their humble beginnings in 2009 they have made huge waves touring with Never Means Maybe and getting signed to SGR management (the management venture of Stuart Gili-Ross of Gallows fame) and Wolf At Your Door records, taking their rightful place alongside some of the hottest properties in the UK rock scene including Deaf Havana and Lower Than Atlantis.

With a mix of heavy pulsating riffs and more subdued, melodic moments, both of which vocalist Mikey Chapman works his way around masterfully, it is very easy to find yourself addicted to this 5 track EP. Opening track Oceans encapsulates what Mallory Knox are all about in the first 30 seconds, with silky vocals laid over clean guitar tracks bursting into an assault of distorted guitars and forceful drums this is a band who waste no time in getting their sound across to the listener, and it is a sound that the band do not stray too far from throughout the EP.

It would be unfair to choose a highlight from the EP as every track more than holds it’s own but one of the standout moments of the EP is definitely the backing vocals (contributed by bassist Sam Douglas’ sister, Amy) that briefly appear on album closer Q.O.D creating the perfectly peaceful lead in to the crashing guitars that follow. Another thing that definitely stands out about this band is that their choruses are absolutely anthemic, it is very easy to envision huge masses of people singing along at festivals and arenas a few years down the line.

Of course making such a statement at this point could be a foolish decision but such is the quality of the music on Pilot that it is a risk that is definitely worth taking on the back of such a masterful debut EP, it will be absolutely fascinating to see what this band have up their collective sleeve in years to come. Don’t miss out.

Catch Mallory Knox with Never Means Maybe at Camden Barfly on the 24th of July and take a listen to their single Resuscitate below.

Ryan de Freitas.

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Wolves Like Us

Late Love
Prosphetic Records

wolveslikeus_lateloveEven though they are barely over a year old, Norway’s Wolves Like Us show maturity far beyond their years in their debut release Late Love; a feat perhaps owing to the members’ previous experience in notable Norwegian acts such as Amulet and JR Ewing. There is undoubtedly high quality of song writing throughout and the album is very concise, playing out at just the right tempo throughout and never outstaying its welcome.

Purpose driven drums and utterly relentless riffs give the perfect backdrop to vocalist Lars Kristensen’s empowered baritone, from album opener (and one of the biggest highlights) ‘Burns Like A Paper Rose’ all the way through to haunting closing track ‘To Whore With Foreign Gods’. This is certainly an album that justifies the opportunities that this relatively new band have been handed, for example, touring with bands such as Klavertak and Gallows.

It isn’t just typical hardcore conventions on show here though either; this is a band that know their instruments well and the aforementioned brutality is often accompanied by delicately intricate lead lines and atmospheric arpeggios, most notably on ‘Secret Handshakes’ and ‘Deathless’.

There isn’t a dull moment to be had, especially with some great variation displayed from full on pit inducing bridges to some excellent melodic sections (‘Sin after Sin’ being one of the best examples of this) and an extremely solid rhythm section throughout. It’s an overused cliché, perhaps, but this album truly is all killer, no filler.

Late Love has been released on Prosthetic Records who have also put out the similarly remarkable Darker Handcraft by Trap Them this year. You can be sure that this won’t be the last you hear of Wolves Like Us with two European tours upcoming in 2011 (one of these with US legends Swing Kids, no less) and a main stage appearance at Norway’s OYA festival. Wolves Like Us are without doubt a band to keep an eye (and ear) out for in future.

Ryan De Freitas

Check out first single Deathless below:

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Iceage

‘New Brigade’
Escho

iceage_newbrigadeWhile Denmark might not be known as a goldmine for producing great punk bands, if you’ve been reading the music press in recent months the chances are you may have come across Iceage. Rumblings of this Copenhagen band’s debut record reached the UK at the beginning of the year, as its initial release was picked up by a number of tastemaking blogs and championed in Noel Gardener’s superb punk column over at The Quietus. In his column, Gardener describes the record as ‘basically, perfect’ and ‘one of the best punk rock records released in recent years’, and I would be hard pushed to disagree.

Given that the history of punk has been mined so many times, it’s difficult to make a record that sounds like nothing else around it. Look around at contemporary punk music and you’ll find variations of Black Flag, variations of Fugazi and variations of Wire, but every once in a while something will be released that sounds completely pure. Not that the album doesn’t draw heavily from post punk influences, but everything is so right about this recording, from the songs to the production, that it manages to distinguish itself among any number of copyist acts. It’ll be interesting to see whether this album is a one-off fluke, but New Brigade captures the essence of what makes punk so damn exciting in the first place.

It’s scrappy, energetic production makes it easy to imagine in a live setting, barely held together on record you can only imagine things intensifying at shows. The guitars clatter against each other, almost lost in the muddle of noise, before being dragged out by some hook that comes out of nowhere. While this doesn’t sound like a record made for anyone other than the band themselves, there are standout tracks (‘White Rune’, ‘New Brigade’, ‘Broken Bone’) with choruses that will bounce around your head for days. Albeit sung in singer Elias Rønnenfelt’s signature sluggish drawl. While the band certainly aren’t scared to thrash out a minute long punk jam, their perhaps at their best when these bursts of near-melody jump out completely unexpectedly.

The early excitement Iceage picked up has quickly multiplied in recent months. With a US release for New Brigade on Dais, at the time of writing the band is currently embarking on a full tour of the states. Whether or not they can maintain the often fleeting attention of the modern indie press remains to be seen, but for now we’re just glad to see this record being noticed. A proper punk record from an exciting new talent.

Sleekly Lion.

Video – New Brigade

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Adolescents

“Fastest Kid Alive”
Concrete Jungle

adolescents_Fastest Kid AliveWhen it comes to the essential North American Hardcore Punk recordings, The Adolescents debut album is easily a requisite. Originally released in 1981 (on Frontier Records) these kids from Orange County, California totally nailed the pent up teenage angst of living in a conservative and sterile environment where they felt total alienation. The snotty frustrated message they unleashed in those songs has persisted in connecting with subsequent generations of outsiders, and remains as fresh and relevant sounding 3 decades later.

The bands subsequent history has been a turbulent ride of bust ups, break ups, make ups, line-up changes… and occasional new recordings… the last full length being 2007’s very credible “O.C. Confidential”…. and now the long threatened new album has finally landed. And was it worth the wait? Oh yes!

Original singer and bassist Tony ‘Reflex’ and Steve Soto are still firmly at the helm. Clearly, they are no longer adolescents, and the subject matter of their latter day material is reflective of that; with families of their own, the politics at the forefront of their consciousness are more global than personal. Their Governments war fuelled agenda does not rest well with the modern day Adolescents and forms an overriding theme to a big chunk of the songs (“Wars Aren’t Won, Wars Are Fought”, Peace Don’t Cost a Thing”, Babylon by Bomb”, “One Nation Under Siege”) but there’s a constant theme of hope and belief that this world could be a better place. And California might brand itself as the ‘Golden State’, but the barrelling “Serf City” paints a different picture, of a place that’s politically and socially stagnant…. “stare down the mighty coast, as you dive in to the pills, take another ride… it’s a roller coaster thrill”.

Tony’s pipes sound mighty good for a guy that’s been hollering his lungs out for over 3 decades! And the songs are awash with the bands signature surf laden hooks and loaded with a rush of fancy rocking rifs that will be sure to satisfy dedicated OG’s and groms alike… my wife just called out “this sounds like The Adolescents”… sure does…!!

Pete Craven

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White Fence

whitefenceisgrowingfaith

Is Growing Faith
Woodsist Records

whitefence_isgrowingfaithIf you have been following our albums of the year in the last few years then you would remember that Darker My Love albums have always made it into the Top 10. Tim Presley, the songwriter from that band cannot stop writing and it’s his latest album project on Woodsist that is this week’s recomendation if you dig your psychedelic folk and nuggets rock.

Presley has an ability to drag your attention back into the golden days of classic songwriting and warm production values, taking hits with the greats from past generations such from Pink Floyd and 13th Floor Elevators, to Love and The Remains. White Fence is his 3rd project following Darker My Love and The Strange Boys which dips its laid back, rock and roll roots into a warped world of reverbed guitars, psychedelic noise and lo-fi, dream streams.

The album kicks off with the tweaked guitar riffs of ‘And By Always’ that conjures the very best of Westernised, (a band fronted by songwriter Colin MacIntyre more famous for his Mull Historical Society project) mixed with the sounds of old Santa Cruz Skateboards video soundtracks. It’s fascinating just how prolific this guy is, year in year out. It’s like he doesn’t sleep and instead, sits up, smokes bongs and becomes the 5th Beatle when it suits. Presley delves into Beatles-esque dittys that feel like they have been forced through a blender with a bunch of 70’s flowers and Tame Impala’s reverb-splashed vocals. The end result takes you back in time, but only to the goodtimes. The ones that you only remember when the sky’s are awash with sunbeams, captured on 8mm tapes and look burnt at the edges.

The haters out there who reckon Presley just wants to live out the John Lennon and Paul McCartney phenomenon can be heard all over the internet but once you get past the obvious influences on this record, it’s hard to not give credit where it’s due. Mainly because Is Growing Faith is another well crafted production from a man who obsesses on delivering some darn good tunes that always have a plethora of musical surprises.

If you dig the likes of Ganglians, Deerhoof, The Shutes, Kelley Stoltz and obviously Darker My Love then give this a spin. It oozes psychedelic delight and would be accompanied well with a double dip tab of the best sheets in town. Have a taster from this fan made video clip.

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Jehst

Dragon of an Ordinary Family
YnR

Waiting six years for an album isn’t ideal and with every passing year, the expectation of being underwhelmed grows tenfold. Such was the trepidation that came with opening the new album from Jehst, the best rapper in the UK bar none, but thankfully the wait was well worth it as this is a serious contender for album of the year.

When it was revealed that he wouldn’t be producing the entire album itself, another seed of doubt was sown, but having heard the album, it’s clear that the beatmakers he’s working with know exactly the style Billy Brimstone needs to work with whether they be upbeat bangers like ‘Thinking Crazy‘ and ‘Old Number 7‘ or the laid back vibes of ‘Camberwell Carrots‘ [shout out to my place of birth!] and ‘The Illest‘. A perfect balance is struck between the two, allowing the rhymes of the MC to take centre stage.

Jehst has always been something of a genius with his words. Not only does he deliver quotables in every line, he raps them in a style that is completely his own, often changing pace or structure mid-line whilst still not missing a beat and this is something that appears in spades on the new album. Whether he is talking about killer rap zombies or introspectively dissecting his feelings, Jehst’s confidence and untouchable delivery exudes brilliance throughout the album.

Standout track ‘England‘ is a real tour-de-force and harks back to his 2001 EP Return of the Drifter, it’s dusty beat laying under his diatribe about the state of the country he lives in, opening with “You gotta stack chips and that’s the way it is yo / living in this city is turning Billy schizo phrenic / it’s a blood money epidemic / kids rock Academiks but they’re not academic” before finishing up with the boldest of all full stops, saying “It’s hardcore but that’s life in England / And it goes for the whole United Kingdom / And I still got love for the place that I’m living / But right now there ain’t nothing Great about Britain“.

Six years is an age to wait for an album, but when it comes as complex, deep and enjoyable as this, it doesn’t seem quite so long.

Abjekt.

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Title Fight

Shed
Side One Dummy

If you’re somebody who grew up listening to the 90’s output of labels like Jade Tree and Polyvinyl, then ‘emo’ won’t be a dirty word for you. You may look back longingly over your collection of Promise Ring and Mineral records and wonder what exactly happened to the genre, but rest assured my kindred emo spirit, all has not been lost and forgotten. For starters, we have Title Fight.

Following on from a slew of EPs, demos and compilations, it seems odd to be calling this Title Fight’s debut album, but that’s how it’s being sold. Now signed to Side One Dummy it’s undoubtedly their biggest release to date, and it both delivers and expands on expectations. While the Kingston, Pennsylvania band have maintained at least some of their breakneck approach to song writing, this is also a far more rounded effort with a range of different styles explored. While initially I was unsure of the band’s noticeable drop in pace, these songs stay with you, and the band’s progression makes for a more complete and diverse debut record.

In saying that, the band still knows when to let rip, and there is still plenty of instant punk gems on offer. Take single ‘27’ (see video below), for example, which is a front runner for my favourite song of the year. As anthemic as any of their earlier work, the signature combination of palm-muted chords and Jamie Rhoden’s rasping vocal is near pop-punk perfection. The sound is pure 90’s yet somehow manages to feel utterly timeless, even alongside its brilliantly nostalgic music video.

Title Fight are over in the UK next month and I, for one, can’t wait to see these songs brought to life. In a year that’s absolutely brimming with exceptional punk and hardcore records, Shed stands up among the very best of them.

Sleekly Lion.