2013 Mini-Album Reviews Part Two: Britney Spears, Cults, and HAIM

Posted on December 15, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Britney Spears-Britney-Jean-Album-Cover

Editor’s Introduction: What a year 2013 has been! Between releasing “Run in Circles” with Vestron Vulture [link], the “Contagion EP” [link], being called The Future of Electronica in Sykomindz Magazine [link], moving into the city of Pittsburgh, and a million other undertakings that will be reflected upon in this blog’s yearly wrap-up article, the blog has taken quite a backseat. In hopes to catch up before the year’s end, there will be several super-articles compiling all that has been missed in the last 12 months.

This particular article features several mini-reviews of records released this year. We featured catch-up articles like this in July, have part one of these mini reviews here and will stop at nothing until all of the interesting releases have been reflected upon. Let’s get started…

BritneyJean by Britney Spears

Upon the release of her 2011 record Femme Fatale, we praised Britney Spears records in general for maintaining a higher level of pop enjoyment than the majority of her contemporaries [link]. Regardless of the musician’s personal struggles, catchy songs and interestingly engineered music thrived. It’s also to be noted that Britney Spears the entertainer is a brand and since 2007 has continuously relied on marketing upcoming projects as “comebacks”. When the Femme Fatale comeback marketing approach failed, team Britney remained stunned, but concept videos for “I Wanna Go” and “Criminal” took their place – in essence, gratifying the music, tour, and overall year in Spears music. The empire triumphed like always.

But, what happens when a one-trick pony marketing stunt that worked so well for so long begins to diminish? Well, Team Britney stars to ponder. How about we make the pop star honest? What if we one up her “human being appeal” shown as a judge on X-Factor by taking a residency in Las Vegas? What if we bring in the musician she scored a huge hit with on “Scream & Shout” as the executive producer on the new record? This all sounds great, right? Sure, if it were done properly, but Britney Jean contradicts everything it seemingly stands for from the first note, almost to the last.

While the William Orbit produced “Alien” ironically speaks lyrical volumes in terms of human loneliness, the amount of pitch correction goes absolutely haywire during several instances of the song (most notably the bridges), inevitably devaluing, hindering, and killing any virtuous tendencies the track has. While overproduced vocals is something we’ve obviously come to expect from Britney Spears records, the amount of correction applied to the main vocal lines of this song are too much, even if they’re going for a peculiar approach to the song to fit with the extraterrestrial theme. However, despite this mishap, “Alien” remains one of the more law-abiding songs in terms of staying true to the revealing matter Britney Jean promises to deliver.

Where the record dispatches emotion most accurately is on the Sia penned/Keith Harris & Chris Braide produced second single “Perfume”. A mid-tempo song in composition, sounding in the vein of something Imogen Heap and Guy Sigworth would produce on a Frou Frou project, Spears takes a trip down infidelity lane while creatively holding on to the unspoken confessions of a paranoid lover. Expressing her disdain for her cheating boyfriend, she ensures the scent of her perfume is strong enough on him so that the other woman inadvertently understands the adulterating activity through fragrance.

Too bad the video turned into a full blown predictable advertisement for Britney Spears’ perfume collection. Want to see the original Joseph Kahn vision? So does he. So do we.

“Passenger” also follows through on an approach to vulnerability, especially on the introduction to the song, but predictably suffers the same fate a “Alien” and utilizes background singers for higher notes more than Britney herself.

The rest of Britney Jean is consists of the predictably simple EDM-influenced pop music that executive producer Will.I.Am has come to make in recent times. Also, how the lead single “Work Bitch” demonstrates a sense of personal touch is beyond anyone’s comprehension. “Til It’s Gone” is filled with the cringe-worthy lyrics “I’m blind from the tears that fall like rain, so lost ever since you went away” and while “Tik Tik Boom” does create a distant-throwback to “(I Got That) Boom Boom” from In The Zone, it falls flat. “Body Ache,” if anything, holds the key to more elaborate production, but even at that has uninspiring melodies that only excite at the more modulating aspects of the programmed synths within the song.

By the time “Chillin’ With You” comes on, which is an apparent move to market Jamie Lynn Spears try music career [link], it’s time for some red and white wine. The whole bottle. Everything from the engineering and production of the following tracks are calculated to be so cohesive and same sounding that it’s boring. Something a Britney Spears project has never been. Ever.

Static by Cults

Ask anyone on the planet and they’ll tell you that break ups are hard. In fact, they’re so gut wrenching in certain situations that leaving the bed seems like a task too difficult to bare. Don’t tell any of this to Brian Oblivion or Madeline Follin, the duo behind Columbia signed Cults, because the two already know all about about endings and beginnings. After all, Static was inspired by their own decision to call off their romantic kindling and trudge on as friends. Oblivion explains in an interview with SPIN, “…once we got off tour, we spent two months apart, traveling and doing weird stuff. Then we came right into the studio, and we’re supposed to work together. It was fine, because we’ve always been cool.”

What’s noticeably different between Static and their 2011 self-titled debut is a focus on more live pop/rock driven moments, compared to the stripped mid-twentieth century melodies and compositions. It’s a step in artistic growth that’s extremely respectable in that the roots of their beginnings are still at the forefront of this new record, but growing messages and talent are transparent and translated wonderfully. The lead single from the project, “I Can Hardly Make You Mine,” shines a light on these transitions with the most precision. Inside of the song, there are sprinklings of their signature vocal samples buried in the right channel of the mix, with blaring guitar layers, and an extremely unexpected stereo image effect in the middle of the song that seemingly unbalances the mix through panning the main guitar line to the left, and the drone to a hard right.

Elaborate musical ideas are also fascinatingly expressed in a pairing of their second single “High Road” [link to review] and “Were Before”. This is perhaps one of the more outstanding moments in Cults’ blossoming catalog of music so far in that the musical motifs inside of both of these songs relate to each other, most specifically in terms of lyrical melody. If “High Road” is the articulation of wishing one could have been the better person, then “Were Before” is the aftermath of it, the grieving process within the consequence of the low road. Madeline scores impressive high notes in the opening verse, with Oblivion taking front and center in this immaculate duet that’s as much of a divulging as it is dexterity.

“TV Dream” outstretches an unnerving vibe mostly explored in early Country music, but with a whistling Twilight Zone twist, then leads into an even more of a sketchy alley way on “We’ve Got It”.

“No Hope” recalls a derivative of the opening song “I Know”. In fact, the entirety of Static is as striking as the aforementioned songs. They’re perfectly executed and solidifies Cults as an act able to craft optimistic charm and thought provoking honesty in both light and trying moments.

haimDays are Gone by HAIM

Danielle, Alana, and Este Haim have seemingly taken the world by storm. After positive reviews of their Saturday Night Live performances, mass praise throughout every channel of journalism, and a diverse debut album called Days are Gone, the three sisters who chose their last name HAIM as their moniker surely deserve it.

Most notably compared to Fleetwood Mac, we see Danielle Haim stylizing her vocals in a realm closer to Esthero. In fact, upon first listen, we checked several times to make sure Esthero was not affiliated with HAIM in any way, shape, or form. Hint: She isn’t. Regardless, the trio have cited a ton of influences from TLC and Destiny’s Child to Jessie Ware and R&B styles in general. While the songs on Days Are Gone are more pop/rock influenced, it’s the sensational amount of vocal harmonizing that truly displays these influences and gives their music an even more versatile approach.

“Falling,” the album’s opener, contains an ever evolving vocal melody that is as accessible as it is complicated. Funked bass, multiple subtle synthesized portions, and complicated percussion lines truly summarize Days Are Gone from the very beginning. From the organic “My song 5” to the folk-influenced “The Wire” and pure pop “Don’t Save Me,” this is a phenomenal first look at the artistry these girls are capable of. In fact, it’s so mesmerizing and pure that its chemistry can best be described by giving it a listen.

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Hyperdub Stream: “Rival Dealer” by Burial

Posted on December 11, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Burial Rival Dealers 2020k
Pre-orders for Rival Dealer by Burial are available digitally at Hyperdub and on CD/Vinyl over at Bleep. This is the fourth installment of EPs released since 2007’s sophomore release Untrue and with its physical worldwide release scheduled for December 16th, 2013, there’s a stream over on YouTube of the entire project.

Rival Dealer as a whole strays from the unconventional compositions and at times, mainly on “Come Down to Us” and “Hiders,” a pure sense of pop bleeds through the clicks, pops, and rained-on ambient soundscapes. Don’t let the genre-term fool you, as Burial has become synonymous with maintaining a signature sound that crosses into many areas of the contemporary and experimental musical worlds. This is no exception. “Come Down to Us” clocks in at over ten minutes, with its follow up “Hiders” subconciously shedding light on the social issue touched upon in the track previous to it.

Toward the very end of “Come Down to Us,” a pitch manipulated, spoken vocal track laments “Without examples, without models, I began to believe the voices in my head that I was a freak, that I am broken, there is something wrong with me that I will never be loveable. Years later, I find the courage to admit that I am transgendered and that this does not mean I am unlovable. So this world we imagine and this room might be used to gain access to other rooms, to other worlds previously unimaginable.” As powerful as this speech stands on its own, it’s the “Hiders” implication that freaks and outsiders tend to hide themselves that speaks volumes for Burial’s sense of social atmospheres. Both tracks are smart tracks that are drenched in current event & sociology as they are pop-progressive electronic pieces.

The title track, “Rival Dealers,” is classic and progressive Burial at its absolute best. In a way, it’s a continuation of the brooding synthesizers explored the most on “Kindred,” but is combined with percussion breaks that tread into an early Prodigy oriented space. It’s dark, demented, and contains walkie-talkie and siren samples. It buzzes, it aggressively attacks, and morphs over time in the way that only a Burial track knows how to. In all, the title track is a summarized spirit of a Burial track as well as the Rival Dealers project as a whole.

It’s above love, it’s about acceptance, it’s about self-revelation, sexuality, and all of the oppression and opposition faced within it. This is arguably the most difficult Burial record to understand sonically and it’s by no means an accident. This is a crucial piece, if not the crucial piece inside of the Burial discography as it stands thus far.

This is the best way to go.


Download digital copies of Rival Dealer from Hyperdub now & pre-order the physical copies over at Bleep

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Northern Lights: Goodnight, Sunrise, STACEY, Illitry and more!

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Amber Waves


Goodnight, Sunrise

This is a monthly infrasound guest post by Amber Waves over at Open ‘Til Midnight. Inside of these issues are five tracks – mostly independent acts from Canada – that have found their way onto Waves’ radar. Be sure to check out this month’s posting by 2020k on OTM’s blog monthly as well with the same premise, called Hidden Gems.

Oh. the weather outside is frightful!  My Mayor is anything but delightful! The stores are a form of Christmas hell….

Let it song!  Let it song!  Let it song!

Have no fear, 2020k readers:  I have yet to be buried under the stereotypical Canadian tundra.  I come bearing gifts of music to blast when your neighbours won’t stop playing “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” or “Little Drummer Boy”.  Whether you favour a chill night in with cider or roaming the streets in a drunken stupor, I’ve got your hook up.

“Kingdom Perverted” – Illitry

Hamilton’s Illitry are masters of creating soundscapes over songs — living, breathing worlds that swallow a listener whole.  One is beckoned like that storybook puppet into the belly of a whale, surrounded by the ribs and echoing heartbeat rhythm of a beast.  Sometimes, the monster sleeps, its tempo slowed to a pitter-patter.  On their latest single, one might say that our creature has stirred rather ominously.

“Kingdom Perverted” is a hook-laden, Afro-Cuban percussive land of lush sounds and foreboding lyrics.  As organic as the band has ever sounded, there is a liveliness that surges through the track that elevates it to a new level.  Illitry is stepping up their game on this one and whether it’s the desperation of the dystopian world they’re evoking or an unknown, particular resonance with this new material, I’m thoroughly enraptured.

 

“The Strangest” – Future History

One of my favourite bands from the Toronto scene, Markham, Ontario’s Future History have released their third album, Lungs and it is as reflective and haunting as its predecessor, Loss:/self (Open ‘Til Midnight’s favourite album of 2012).

One of the things I admire most about this band is their creative use of ambient noise and found objects to layer their compositions.  The sounds of the cabin itself within which the album was written form a breathy undercurrent for the tracks.  There’s also a strong thematic thread of finding oneself in a world that pressures us to abandon our core being.

Take a listen to “The Strangest”, a personal highlight from the album.

 

“Worst Part” – STACEY

I could tell you about Toronto, Canada artist STACEY and her confessional piano-driven songs, but she tells it far more eloquently:

stark minimalism
waterfalls of cathedral reverb

raw intimacy with the endless haze of sultry summer synth.
melodies rife with the delicacy of raw, unadulterated romance.
lyrics emanating a requiem for often unrequited love.

technicolor production with microscopic details.
the sad ending sensual.
a lot with very little.

“Worst Part” is haunting me.  Let its ghostly being into your heart, as well.

 

“This Is Yours” – Goodnight, Sunrise

Toronto band Goodnight, Sunrise (GNSR) is perhaps the coolest quadrangle of musical awesome around.  They epitomize the vibe of what I call Musiclove:  harmony, beauty, playfulness and knowing when to rock your ass off.  They’re the band shooting confetti at crowds, playing their album as the accompaniment to a spin class (with Vanessa Vakharia belting vocals while leading the class!).  They also gave one of the coolest interviews ever in the history of OTM.

Their debut album Create/Destroy/Create has been on heavy rotation since its March release, with track “This Is Yours” in the roster of potential Hockey Night In Canada themes.  Classic rock chords and an inspiring sing-along chorus/outro that begs for waking up your neighbours:  what more could you want for your holiday gathering?

 

“Let Me Go” – HAIM

Perhaps one of the most hyped debuts of the year, Los Angeles band HAIM slammed onto the scene with singles “Forever” and “The Wire” and have continued garnering attention with their album Days Are Gone.  Cleverly pop in the vein of Fleetwood Mac meets early 90’s girl band and shaken with just a touch of Joan Jett anger, HAIM is pretty infectious for pop rock.

But where the ladies truly shine is on the first track of theirs I ever heard, “Let Me Go”.  Blues rock angst that builds and swells, the collective talents of the band are truly unleashed.  I can’t say whether the decision to lean the album to more of a retro dance feel was a marketing choice or truly where their hearts were at, but I do know that I’d love their next release to jam out as hard as this live recording from The Roundhouse.

There you have it: the final dispatch from the Northern Lights for 2013!  Stay safe and warm, music lovers. 

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Ghostly International Team Up With Ugly Mug to Make “Huron River Roast” Coffee!

Posted on December 4, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Ghostly International Huron River Roast CoffeeThere’s two things I love most in my solitary life: Coffee and Electronic music. So, Ghostly International have combined my love for these things by teaming up with Ugly Mug to come up with a coffee roast especially dubbed Huron River Roast.

Adorably, Ugly Mug has been a part of keeping the Ghostly team wide awake for years. On the website for ordering and information on the coffee, the record “Ghostly’s Ann Arbor team has been receiving bi-weekly coffee deliveries from Ugly Mug for over a year. They drop off the deliveries in person, which has led to many conversations and ultimately, this collaboration. ”

  • Each bag contains 12 oz. of whole beans
  • Packaged in matte black gusseted bags with a degassing valve, sealed with black tin-ties
  • Each bag is hand-inscribed with its roasting date
  • Use two grams of ground coffee per one ounce of water, and brew at 200-205 F for three to five minutes

At just fifteen dollars, the roast is an eclectic source of Sumatran Lintong Volkopi, Ethiopian YirgaCheffe Konga, and Tanzanian Peaberry. You can pick up your bag here.

Easter egg: When you click the picture to make it better, part of the link says #prettyphoto. Pretty photo, pretty coffee. Oh, and buy the cute mug while you’re at it!

Ghostly International is home to artists such as Mux Mool, Lusine, Tycho, Com Truise, Gold Panda, Shigeto, and one day 2020k. Hey, they sign coffee fans, right?

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Morrissey’s Relationship With Jake Walters Omitted From American Release & British Hardcover Editions of His Autobiography

Posted on December 4, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Morrissey AutobiographyAfter a slew of controversy surrounding a section of Morrissey’s Autobiography detailing his longstanding friendship with photographer Jake Walters, which lead The Smiths lead singer to release a statement (link) denouncing rumors regarding his sexuality, a more confrontational approach to dismiss this subject has come to surface. The American release and British hardback versions have heavily edited versions of his interactions with Walters.

An anonymous report states that an entire description of a night out with Chrissie Hynde and Jake Walters has been re-written to only include Hynde. Other paragraphs have also been tarnished from their original publication. Not only has there been censorship in literary aspects, but a picture of Jake has also been omitted from these versions.

An anonymous Morrissey-solo.com tip thoroughly remarks:

I picked up my copy of the American edition of Autobiography today and started reading through it, and when I reached the part of the book where Jake is introduced, I noticed that his picture was missing. I didn’t really think anything of it, but then I realized that his section of the book is heavily edited, with certain paragraphs detailing the relationship truncated considerably and some lines and anecdotes omitted entirely. What’s really strange is how trivial some of these changes are; for example, in the UK version of the book, Morrissey describes a night out with Jake and Chrissie Hynde at a Battersea pub, but in the American version it is only Morrissey with Chrissie.

This part of the book contains the only editorial differences between the UK/US editions I’ve noticed so far, though I haven’t read through it all so there could be more. However, I find these changes very odd and they stymy the flow of Morrissey’s prose somewhat, to the extent that it actually lessens the emotional intensity of what I consider to be one of the most moving sections of the book….

Finding a reason without official word is difficult, but is currently assumed to be caused by the fact that so many critics placed the microscope highly on his vaguely described affairs with men instead of focusing on the whole of the autobiography itself.

The publications nor the author himself have not yet been reached for comment.

Currently, there is no word on if sections featuring a pseudonym Gelato have been edited. While certain aspects of the book are homoerotic in theory, it’s very upsetting that a genuine friendship would be compromised because of a media firestorm or conflicting sexual declarations. More information will be posted as this develops.

Thank you to Elizabeth Wiet for assistance on this piece.

UPDATE #1: The phrases ‘walked in and stayed for 2 years, and  ‘I becomes we’ have been omitted. British Airways brothers/lovers anecdote have been excused. The apparent Dublin/Dr Anthony Clare/Sherborne episode excised. No mention of tea in the bath, someone to answer the telephone, etc. All missing from these editions.

UPDATE #2: Considering the playful tweets from Jake Watlers since the release of Autobiography, including a Retweet from a @PenguinUKBooks and this, it is extremely unlikely that the photographer had anything to do with this censorship.

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2013 Mini-Album Reviews Part One: Lady Gaga, Janelle Monae, and Lorde

Posted on November 28, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Lady Gaga ARTPOP Cover
Editor’s Introduction: What a year 2013 has been! Between releasing “Run in Circles” with Vestron Vulture [link], the “Contagion EP” [link], being called The Future of Electronica in Sykomindz Magazine [link], moving into the city of Pittsburgh, and a million other undertakings that will be reflected upon in this blog’s yearly wrap-up article, the blog has taken quite a backseat. In hopes to catch up before the year’s end, there will be several super-articles compiling all that has been missed in the last 12 months.

This particular article features several mini-reviews of records released this year. We featured catch-up articles like this in July, and will stop at nothing until all of the interesting releases have been reflected upon. Let’s get started…

ARTPOP by Lady Gaga

Arguably the world’s biggest pop star since she burst onto the scene a mere seven years ago, Lady Gaga set out to reverse-Andy Warhol the music industry and demonstrate that the genre of pop can be both art and pop.

Embracing technology, the record can be housed within an almost completely vacant downloadable iPhone app that only allows its user to create preset gif-files. Promising Gaga TV and something called Trakstar in the future, the application seems to be a waste, but what about the album? You’re shunned if you listen to it through laptop speakers, but ARTPOP‘s sound is so bastardized that it’s seemingly created for the low-end generation of sound. Sitting at an average level of 5dB of dynamic range, Stefani Germanotta’s fourth full length release is as ear fatiguing as it is an exhausting declaration of pretentious meanings through wearisome, over-sexualized lyrical content.

The record’s lethargic title track is similar in composition to Selena Gomez’s superior 2012 “Love You Like a Love Song,” but the biggest offender is the continuation in deceptively utilizing a rhythmic derivative of Madonna’s “Holiday” bass-line and interpolating it into “Fashion!”. We saw this happen with the “Born This Way” versus “Express Yourself” debacle and it seems as though the doppelganger sonics are sustaining themselves on the follow up as well. If the rip-offs and poor mastering techniques aren’t enough, there’s audible distortion heard throughout the clothing oriented song and all over ARTPOP as a whole. Where “Dope” and “Gypsy” could easily be beautiful ballads to disrupt the dance-oriented project, they’re over-compressed instead, with piano and vocals clashing so abruptly in the mix, above a prominent noise floor, that they become grating and lose all possibility of connecting emotion.

If you can look past the poor engineering, ARTPOP does get it right when it comes to vocal delivery and layered electronic charm. “Arua,” the opener and feature in Machete Kills picks up where “Americano” from Born This Way (our review here) left off, sliding right in for a western Lana Del Rey meets pop-star glory and “Sexxx Dreams” combines Janet Jackson-isms and cult-classic “Spectacular” by 3LW member Kiely Williams into an outer-worldly dramatization that confesses “and I lay in bed, I touch myself, and think of you.”

The most complete and comprehensive song on this Lady Gaga spectacular is easily given to the prodigal-producer Madeon song “Mary Jane Holland,” which speaks to a post-dubstep sound-scape, pulling in 21st century synth-pop perfection and a theatrical breakdown in which Gaga proclaims “I know that Mom and Dad think I’m a mess, but it’s alright because I am rich as piss.” We know, Gaga. We know.

Also worth checking out are the compositions for “Venus,” “G.U.Y.,” and “Donatella”.

While ARTPOP reportedly cost an upward of $25 million in promotional funds and may have potentially laid off an unconfirmed fifty Interscope Records employees, it’s a dud that has few and far between moments of sparkling musical content. Where the record thrives most is ironically outside of the notes and into the mind of Ms. Germanotta, who continues to display her relentless amounts of creativity through Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovic, and Robert Wilson affiliations; as well as her outstanding vocal and live performance talent.

The Electric Lady by Janelle Monae

Moving on to a different Jane, Janelle Monae dropped the follow-up to her 2010 debut LP The ArchAndroid in early September. This particular record follows the imaginative and conceptual Suite installments of which closely follow an android named Cindy Mayweather as she attempts to identify herself as a public citizen capable of love and emotion, just as humans.

Mass praise for Monae has come from Prince over the years and while he hasn’t been well known for collaborations outside of his own work, a not-so-surprising green light for a feature from the legend himself was given and the final result comes in the form of “Givin Em What They Love,” the first proper track from the sophomore release. It’s a rhythmically minimal and funked piece of music, full of “I am…” proclamations in the verses (accompanied with various stereo vocal delays) and quite possibly one of the strongest pieces in Janelle’s discography to date.

Following in collaborations is the Erykah Badu featured “Q.U.E.E.N.” (here is our full coverage on this bootylicious track) and a head-bobbing title-track that features Solange Knowles and recalls the mid-90’s Pop/R&B landscape, most notably incorporating a twist on a line from an early Britney Spears record with the repeated “shock me one good time” moment in the bridge.

Perhaps the most notable moment between creative forces is the team up between Janelle and Miguel on the seductively smooth and promotional single “Primetime”. It’s a boundary pushing number purely because of it’s strong roots in the genre of Rhythm and Blues, which is a genre that’s been fading from general releases for quite some time now. In fact, what makes The Electric Lady such a special record is its fearlessness to conquer multiple disintegrating genres, embellishing them under an umbrella of modern urban pop. The strongest moment of pop force on the record comes from “Dance Apocalyptic,” and while it’s catchy melodic structure made it a no-brainer in terms of receiving full music video treatment, elements of the aforementioned musical describers still gorgeously run rampant through the composition.

A sociological commentary on the oppressed in the world disguised under Cindy Mayweather has been what Janelle Monae has been best at crafting since the beginning of her career. The Electric Lady is no exception in prolonging this subliminal fight and its fusion of eccentric, eclectic influences and musings water this 2013 release into being one of the most enterprising releases in R&B in the last few years.

Lorde
Pure Heroine by Lorde

Any record that starts out with the first line on the first song as “don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk?” and somehow ends the last line on the last song as “People are talking, let ’em talk” is bound to have great content and well-crafted introspection inside of it. What’s unexpected is not that Pure Heroine is a debut record by a major label artist, but that Lorde released this record as a sixteen year old who originally crossed her fingers and hoped her art would resonate with its listeners.

What happens inside of this young lady’s first record is absolute magic. Hand-crafted along side fellow New Zealand resident Joel Little and co-produced with Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Lorde essentially finds a creative niche within the realm of the self-proclaimed late-night driving productions found on Drake discs and expands upon it using smartly programmed electronic instruments and outstanding lyrical content that focuses so specifically on the peripheral upper-class from an outsider standpoint that it’s social commentary pours out through the easily instant melodies. “Royals” presents the most prestigious example at confronting a mundane culture, while remaining vague enough for accessibility. The lead single is the perfectly teetered line that placed her as the first female to have cracked the Billboard alternative charts since Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” and in the same month be absurdly called racist by the some of the more unseasoned bloggers.

Almost always brooding in the instrumental front, the occasional down-pitching of vocals, heard on “Tennis Court” and “Gory and Blood” respectively cater to the overall mood. In regards to overall engineering presentation, Pure Heroine stands at an average dynamic range of 7dB, but it’s smart use of equalization and soft techniques during the initial mixing process leads the Lorde project to be more listenable than most other records that suffer the same sort of squashed mastering.

In a world full of fluffy, popped out teenage superstars like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, One Direction, etcetera, Lorde is the antidote to what the mainstream cross-genre world needs. While it’s normal for these sorts of artists to come in and fade out into a more tight-knit scene, it’s our hope that Lorde continues to flourish in what she does – creating some of the most socially profound, but simplified songwriting the current generation has been subjected to through her work thus far.

Start to finish: Pure Heroine is a perfect album.

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The xx Release Statement Regarding Unauthorized Use of “Intro” in Anti-Gay Organization Advert

Posted on November 27, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

the xxThe xx have released a statement regarding their song “Intro” being used in an advertisement by U ime obitelji, a Croatian organization against same sex marriage.

It protectively reads:
“It has come to our attention that our music has been used without our permission in a promotional advert by the Croatian organisation “U ime obitelji”. We wish to state that we didn’t, and would never, approve the use of our music by this organisation. To be clear, we unconditionally support the equal right to marriage regardless of sexuality.
xx The xx”

Unfortunately, this organization (whose name translates The Name of the Family) has garnered enough signatures in a recent petition to force a referendum on an equal marriage ban.

The upside? The advertisement has since been taken down.

The xx are releasing their self-titled debut and sophomore Coexist on multiple 7-inch vinyl as a collectable box sets & are available for pre-order here.

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Kraftwerk Announces Residency at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles

Posted on November 26, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Kraftwerk The Catalogue 12345678
The pioneering, legendary Kraftwerk have been quite busy lately. A few months following an announcement in June that the gang have been recording the follow up to 2003’s Tour De France projects, a residency inside of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles California has been confirmed as planned, set, and ready to go for 2014.

Are you ready for the best part? The band will be playing eight albums over a span of four days – two shows each day. This is in continuation of their stunning The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 shows.

Autobahn (1974), 7:30 p.m. March 18
Radio-Activity (1975), 10:30 p.m. March 18
Trans-Europe Express (1977), 7:30 p.m. March 19
The Man-Machine (1978), 10:30 p.m. March 19
Computer World (1981), 7:30 p.m. March 20
Techno Pop (1986), 10:30 p.m. March 20
The Mix (1991), 7:30 p.m. March 21
Tour de France (2003), 10:30 p.m. March 21

This is part of LA Phil’s Minimalist Jukebox Festival and features 3D visuals and projections. More information, including ticket info can be found here.

We need a rendezvous, so sign us up to see Computer Love!

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Album Review: M.I.A. – Matangi

Posted on November 17, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

MIA-Matangi
After a slew of delayed release dates, a controversial plan to drop the fourth record by  M.I.A. on the Tamil New Year fizzled out like the rest of them. In addition to a $1.5 million lawsuit from the NFL and a public custody battle, the follow up to 2010’s legislative /\/\ /\ Y /\ record was determined too positive by record executives, then shelved until it was darkened up a bit. In the same period of time, Maya Arulpragasam’s career ironically took a turn toward extreme acclaim by winning institutional awards and mass praise for the Romain Gavras directed “Bad Girls” music video, on top of an honorary Super bowl Half-Time performance and two spotlight features alongside Madonna on MDNA. No surprised faces were had when the outspoken musician flipped the boiling pot by threatening Interscope with a leak of the record.

While a head-to-head battle between artist and label is as common as rain in Cherrapunji, it’s the end result of the conflict over an album now named and released as Matangi that’s most surprising. “I don’t know what that means,” Arulpragasam shot. “Maybe they said that because it didn’t sound like EDM or dubstep. But after that, I handed them the same version of the album. I added intros and outros, but the songs were pretty much the same.”

The final version of Matangi, finally released on November 1st, 2013, demonstrates a confrontational, scatterbrained interpolation of worldly influences that entwine themselves to sociologically positive implications, individualism, a political standpoint that punctures as much as it converses, and the grabbing give-no-fucks swagger that attaches itself to Maya’s persona and art. Continuing through the streamline of titling records after family members, this fourth studio effort is a varied self-titled release as well as an inspirational reference to the Hindu Goddess affiliated with music and learning.

Starting with a bang and spelled out in caps, the Switch produced title-track wastes no time in designing an aggressive stereo oriented, loop based percussion section for M.I.A. to center her diversified vocals upon. Cleverly comprised of low-bass tones and doubled kick sounds, the track stays heavy in the lower frequencies, allowing the artist’s antagonistic vocal assault to play through delayed effects and massive, doubled-pitch manipulation accents. Amongst the ground working of “MATANGI,” a frantically distributed cultural drum line rages and varies through the transforming song structure. “It’s so simple, go to the floor,” she demands, before interrogating, “Do you want more? Do you want more? Do you know what I got in store?” As left and right as the the chorus may be, it’s nothing compared to the contrasts bestowed upon the listener in the verses. In fact, the entire first verse finds itself packing named country upon named country into nothing but a shout-out that ends simply by asking them to do the dance (this is very “Internacional” by Brazilian Girls). Afterward, the hip-pop & trap inspired composition rises with hostility by commenting on false idol worship (“I’m ice cream, you’re sorbet,” / “if you’re gonna be me, you need a manifesto. If you ain’t got one, you better get one presto”) and blatantly attacking mainstream status (“started from the bottom, but Drake gets all the credit”).

Later in Matangi, Drake finds himself backed into a corner with opposition to his You Only Live Once motto, on the reincarnation and karma-oriented song “Y.A.L.A.” (You Always Live Always). Considering the unsigned YMCMB affiliate The Weeknd pops up twice on this record, it’s quite possible that jabs toward the Take Care crossover artist is referenced as a general example toward a tired culture as opposed to blunt cage rattle. Regardless, M.I.A. insures the listener that “bombs go off when I enter the building,” and Dutch production team The Partysquad brings hard hitting, repetitive saw-synthesizer lines and a wonderful hall reverberated post-chorus section that uses pitched down vocals to create it’s main melodic line.

MIA_Matangi_Promo
Known to throw traditional mixing techniques down the drain (reference), there’s distortion throughout the entirety of Matangi that’s most likely intentional. While grating to the ears of an industry professional, the imperfections throughout M.I.A. records lend themselves toward a rougher, more sonically political feel, than what they would be in a most polished version. Being said, there is an offender that seems to be a bit left-field in the truculent mixing and mastering process. The optimistic Doc McKinney oriented “Lights” track, specifically through the opening loops, fills itself with ear vexation. Once the full chorus and actual structural sections of the song begin, the track advances greatly, but any break in the song brings distortion that seemingly strays from the light, spiritual oriented subject all together.

What is attention grabbing in the best way possible is “aTENTion”. In the same vein as Kala’s “XR2,” a 90’s minimal dance beat lends itself to a foreground for Arulpragasam to present an experimental voice to. Tooting her blatant horn, she’s “running through the streets causing TENTsion” and insuring the political undertones of the tent emphasis match reaction to playful lines such as “There’s 36 champers in my Wu TENT”. It’s mixed wonderfully, downplayed for throwback vibes to flourish, all the while indiscriminately pointing out what is vaguely imporTENT. (While the caps lock in this paragraph may be difficult to understand, its context becomes clear when listening to the song itself). It is several songs later, during “Boom Skit,” where Maya directs specific deliberation toward subjects of her own life and the media portrayal of celebrity in terms of stereotypes.

There’s a thorough write up we did here on “Bad Girls”.  In the same sub-genre of similar lyrical specimens as “Bad Girls”, there are a few tracks that guide their way into lighter, more pop oriented song craft. “Exodus/Sexodus,” and “Know It Ain’t Right” steer toward more generalized lyrics than the hard hitting battery Matangi is comprised of. It’s a different side to M.I.A. than what is spread throughout her catalog of music, but, stays gloomy and tiger-cuttingly ready to explode at any moment.

It’s “Only 1 U” that best displays the joyous mood Matangi sometimes falls upon in that it’s rough, loop heavy, blazing with electric shocks, and creatively stuttered in boxing ring like orientation, allowing a jumbled repetition of the word “ding” to be met at the end of it’s phrase with a bell. Dissimilar is the pushed “Come Walk With Me,” that combines traditional pop structures, with conjectural mixing techniques (including phased guitar plucks and multiple vocal take cut and pasting).

We also covered “Bring The Noize” at length here, upon its release. While the album version eliminates the Janis Joplin interpolation, it’s still holds a triumphant spotlight in terms of intensely political content, hard hitting sonics, and one hell of a music video.

In all, the semi-self titled Matangi marries into the sonic vernacular of Maya Arulpragasam’s catalog immaculately. It’s brash, autobiographical, biographical, honest, full of face-off engagement, and an unapologetic explanation of the world as M.I.A. sees it, has seen it, and will continue to see it. Whether the Goddess of music and learning affected the musician as much as she says she did is up for debate (see this FACT article), but it’s clear that even when something of positive influence comes into play on an album by this Sri Lankan, it’s going to come across just the way we like it: badass and tough.


Purchase Matangi with a bonus track from Amazon MP3 [physical here], over at iTunes, or pre-order the vinyl

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The Return of Lily Allen! “Hard Out Here” Song & Video Premieres

Posted on November 13, 2013 by 2020k | RJ Kozain

Lily Allen Hard Out HereIT’S HARD OUT HERE FOR A BITCH, BUT LILY ALLEN IS BACK!

Lily’s version of [“Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane] is both a warm welcome back to the music world (we hear there’s a new album with some feminist vibes in the works) and a hope from us that it will reign as Christmas number one this year on the UK singles charts. – 2020k only a few days ago.

“We’re never had it so good, uh huh we’re out of the woods. And if you can’t detect the sarcasm, you’ve misunderstood.”

There’s no news on an album title or release date. Details to come. Enjoy the social commentary on the misogynistic approach to music this year in the video and debut single off of Lily Allen’s upcoming third record.

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