Sigur Ros – Kveikur
The Icelandic giants return doing a total 180 from last
years rather disappointing and very ambient, Valtari. Kveikur hears Sigur Ros
experimenting with metal, industrial, hard rock and create one of their finest
albums of their illustrious career. This harder and much more aggressive
seventh album from Sigur Ros is something that will appeal to fans and those
that are still questioning the musical capability of this magnificent band.
FINAL GRADE: A
Action Bronson – SAAB Stories
Queens’ best new rapper emerges with a new EP produced
entirely by Harry Fraud. While SAAB Stories is three songs shy of being a full
album, Bronson brings his A-game to give fans a taste of what is ahead. SAAB
Stories also hears Bronson getting surprisingly serious, not as many food or
sex references on this but an introspective look as to were his life is these
days and where he wants it to go.
FINAL GRADE: A-
The 1975 – IV EP
Buzz band The 1975 pretty much package their best songs from
their previous three EP’s and add a couple new tracks to appeal to new fans.
However, while these songs are perfect pop / rock combo’s (and that is what we
are grading on), it would have been better to just hold off on this EP and make
fans wait for September’s full length.
FINAL GRADE: A-
Beady Eye – BE
Linking up with David Sitek of TV on the Radio, Beady Eye
bring out the very best of their psychedelic vibe and sound and do it right.
Shedding whatever shell the former members of Oasis had with their former band,
Liam and Co., come into their own and find the creative force that still has
them going.
FINAL GRADE: A-
Frankie and the Heartstrings – The Days Run Away
The Britrock band returns with album number two and keep the
same momentum and garage rock fun that their 2011 debut, Hunger, had.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Zomby – With Love
A very ambitious double album from one of Britain’s premier
and enigmatic DJ’s and producers. With Love is a tour-de-force of experimental
beats, sounds, styles and while at points exhausting because of how much is
packaged together, it is still a full delight and creative project to
experience. If broken up into two separate albums or as one compilation, this
would have been one of the years best albums.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Surfer Blood – Pythons
It is summertime and it is the perfect season for Surfer
Blood to give us new music. Pythons hears the Florida band mature and become
much more sincere with their lyrics, music and most of all themselves. While it
is still a solid summer album, it is a bit dramatic than their debut, Astro
Coast.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Baths – Obsidian
For his third album, Will Wisenfeld aka Baths, finds clever
ways to make his electronic music and glitch sound become much more evolved and
intricate than just beats made in the studio. In many ways it seems like there
is a story in the sounds he is crafting without having to sing a single note,
which he does, but it is the music that truly makes Obsidian a worthwhile
listen.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Erich Collins Carey – Could’ve Gone Either Way
The self financed debut album from New York singer /
songwriter, Erich Collins Carey hears him baring his soul in sound and it is
the simplicity of his sound that enhances his lyrics more. Much like Clark
Kent, Carey is not what he appears to be, an attorney by day, at night he
transforms himself into a musician. He takes his Irish roots and uses it to his
advantage to become a clever storyteller, songwriter, and guitar player. The
title of his record could possibly signify where this project could go, however,
it seems to have gone in his favor and the promise of a new songwriter has been
given to us.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Parlour Flames
Former Oasis guitarist, Bonehead, forms a new band nearly 20
years after his departure from the legendary band. Parlour Flames is as British
as it gets, this is a record that an fan of Britrock will love and enjoy.
FINAL GRADE: B
Black Sabbath – 13
The metal legends return with their first album in 18 years
and their first album with Ozzy Osbourne in 35 years. After a series of session
and false starts that date back to 2001, Sabbath launched again without
original drummer Bill Ward, and linked up with producer Rick Rubin and drummer
Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) to craft certainly their best
album in ages but also their heaviest. Rubin had the band listen to their 1st
album nearly before every session and cranked out a classic sounding Sabbath
record. However, with most of the songs clocking in over six minutes and with
redundant riffs, it drops 13 into a chore to go through, but still manages to
show that at their age and after all the mileage and issues, they can still
chomp harder than anyone around.
FINAL GRADE: B
Spacehog – As It Is On Earth
The first band we ever interviewed on this site finally
release their new album and first in 12 years. As It Is On Earth hears the New
York via England glam rockers bring together psychedelica and garage to craft
an impressive return.
FINAL GRADE: B
David Byrne & St. Vincent – Brass Tactics EP
The companion to the unlikely duo’s team-up debut, Love This
Giant, the legendary David Byrne and Anne Clark aka St. Vincent gave away Brass
Tactics as an EP to thank fans and showcase they have more down the pipeline
together.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Kanye West – Yeezus
The much-anticipated new album from one of music’s greatest
originators is finally here, and was Yeezus worth all of the hype? Of course
not. With no radio singles, a clever marketing campaign, a bombastic SNL
performance and interesting Governors Ball set, plus a new baby on the way,
Kanye West plastered himself all over the media in recent months. Yet, anything
West does is not do quietly, it has to be done in this grand fashion or else
his whole career would not be as fun as it has. But, it all seems to be a distraction,
it seems it has fed his beast of an ego even more that he is now become the
motherfucking monster he rapped about on his last solo album, My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy. Yeezus is nothing but an ode to West himself. It is nothing
more than a self-fulfilling prophecy of the Gospel according to Kanye. With
industrial beats and Marilyn Manson samples, he tries to cross genres and blur
hip-hop’s line as an isolated genre, yet, falls flat on trying to keep up with
himself. The delivery of lyrics is forced and rushed, as is the production. It
is now know that in the 25th hour of this albums creation, Rick
Rubin was called into salvage Kanye from himself and giving hip-hop another
Detox incident. If Rubin was signed on from the start, Yeezus could have lived
up to its own potential and Kanye could have given the world a sixth album of
sheer intelligence and forward thinking hip-hop. Yet, this just sounds like a
man screaming to be fed more attention over Nine Inch Nails / KMFDM-esque
beats. Kanye, word to the wise, if we wanted NIN sampled with hip-hop, we just
would have listened to that “In Da Club” / “Closer” mash-up.
FINAL GRADE: C
College – Heritage
After the massive success of their song, “A Real Hero” from
the Drive soundtrack, College releases a full length that will fall on deaf
ears. Heritage is an uninspired and at points rather lazy release from a group
that showed so much promise especially in the age when electronic bands seem to
be a dime-a-dozen, Heritage shows off that thus far College is a one-hit
wonder.
FINAL GRADE: C-
French Montana – Excuse My French
French Montana has become one of hip-hops signature go-to
voices over the last five years. Some of Montana’s classic hooks and lines have
been nothing but gifts to songs from artists like Rick Ross, Action Bronson,
Nicki Minaj and many more. Yet, on his own he falls short. Excuse My French is a cliché hip-hop record
about money, cars, women, drugs and what his is worth. His starring role cannot
be held on its own and seems he is a stronger supporting cast member than lead.
FINAL GRADE: D
