Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
“You all got ‘til April 7 to get your shit together,” that
line came in the form of a call to arms to every rapper alive as Kendrick Lamar
released “The Heart Pt. 4,” a song that is a stand alone single that doesn’t
even appear on his latest record. Once April 7 came, it was announced he was
releasing a new album the following week – which would be Good Friday on the
Christian calendar. As the week went on, new info on the album titled DAMN.,
would arrive and as it came at the stroke of Midnight on April 14, the world
wasn’t ready. DAMN., isn’t Pimping a Butterfly again nor is it a good kid going back to the maad city.. It is Kendrick Lamar solidifying himself as the
best rapper alive and a top five emcee. As he uses the words thrown against
him, the headlines that are flashed around the news, DAMN. is a record that is
just as much in the ethos of punk rock as it is in hip-hop. If Johnny Rotten
fronted The Clash it would have that attitude and political / social rawness
and awareness. Yet, Lamar, who is a fan of jazz, Afropunk, rock, and clearly
90s rap and R&B, he mixes his influences together with a record that is not
just the best to come out in 2017 but an album that has the Compton rapper
touching the arch of music history.
FINAL GRADE: A+
Joey Bada$$ – All Amerikkkan Bada$$
Just a week before Kendrick Lamar made headlines with DAMN.,
Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ released his sophomore album and continues to build
on the momentum he created with his stellar debut, B4 Da Money. All Amerikkkan
Bada$$ is lyrical fuck you to the system, Trump, and anyone who is trying to
pin someone down. Bada$$ proves he is not just one of the best young rappers
around today but he goes swinging for the big leagues and if there was a record
that could make everyone pay attention to him, this is it.
FINAL GRADE: A
Future Islands – The Far Field
On their fifth record, Baltimore experimental outfit Future
Islands delivers their thunderous best. The Far Field is a record about
obsession, love, passion, and captivation. It is a record that also captures
the rawness and intensity of their live shows and even gets applause from heavy
hitters like Debbie Harry from Blondie who appears on the album to led her
voice.
FINAL GRADE: A
Mastodon – Emperor of Sand
The Georgia metal monsters return with a record that is
totally full circle. Emperor of Sand is a record that cherry picks nearly every
type of metal, rock, and prog that the band have done over the years on each of
their albums and puts it together that it not only pleases old fans but new
ones as well.
FINAL GRADE: A-
Arca
The Venezuelan beatmaker and musician returns with his third
record and is an expose into his own self. Following the abrasive and
uncomfortable Mutant, Arca’s self-titled release is a welcome sound of what
music will be in the next five years. Always pushing the envelope and creating
the future of music and beats, he still stands out as someone to keep a close
eye on.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Maxiimo Park – Risk to Exist
On their best album in a decade, Maxiimo Park return to their
roots and take influence from Brexit to create a record that would have had
people gasping in their heyday. Risk to Exist is an album of catchy tunes with
meaning and a band fully realizing who they are as their career has changed
course.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Aimee Mann – Mental Illness
One of America’s best singer / songwriters returns with a
heavy record about an even heavier subject. Mann has put out her saddest,
slowest, and most difficult record to date but only she can make something so
hard like mental illness and give it a series of songs that showcase the
importance as to why this topic is something that needs to be discussed more
rather than shunned.
FINAL GRADE: B
Pallbearer – Heartless
The melodic doom metal band from Arkansas return and
continue to put their listeners into a musical chokehold on their latest.
FINAL GRADE: B
Mew – Visuals
The Danish alternative band return after a few years away
from the music world and come back with a record that sticks true to their
formula but also fits the mold of the modern era.
FINAL GRADE: B
Nelly Furtado – The Ride
After five years away, everyone’s favorite Canadian singer
/songwriter comes back with more alternative pop classics that combine her love
of hip-hop beats and folk flavor. While she describes The Ride as “a hangover
album,” the album is one you can listen to sober as well and still enjoy.
FINAL GRADE: B
Joe Goddard – Electric Lines
Eight years after his solo debut, the Hot Chip beatmaker and
sometimes singer is back with his sophomore effort and is another one of club
favorites that feature his clever lyrics and passion for dance.
FINAL GRADE: B
John Mellencamp – Sad Clowns and Hillbillies
One of America’s greatest singer / songwriters is back with
his latest offering on love, loss, desperation, and how the common man is
getting screwed over by the system.
FINAL GRADE: B
Guided By Voices – August By Cake
On their first ever double album, Guided By Voices give fans
a longer GBV record than usual. It is solid but nothing too left field for the
indie vets.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Robyn Hitchcock
The indie singer-songwriter returns with a record produced
by The Raconteurs' Brendan Benson and delivers everything you have come to
expect.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Incubus – 8
For their first full length album since 2011’s disappointing
If Not Now When?, Incubus come back with 8, a record that had promise following
2015’s fantastic Trust Fall Side A EP. Their latest isn’t just the sound of a
band who seem to lost their mojo, it feels as if they are trying too hard in
the process. Linking up with Skrillex to produce a number of tracks, the
California rockers sound overproduced and uninspired in a record that could
have put them back as not just a novelty act but a band who are still serious
about the music they make.
FINAL GRADE: C
Jamiroquai –Automaton
Music lovers around the globe rejoiced after British dance
rockers Jamiroquai announced a new album earlier this year. Yet, after
Automaton arrived, it failed to deliver the promise of what everyone expected.
Instead of getting a funky dance album that could push the boundaries of what
is currently happening in the genre, they get a formulaic record that doesn’t
hit the mark.
FINAL GRADE: C
Father John Misty – Pure Comedy
The former Fleet Foxes drummer returns with his third album
under the Father John Misty record and we can’t actually tell if we are
supposed to take it serious or if the record, like his persona, is a phony act
and joke?
FINAL GRADE: D
Cold War Kids – L.A. Divine
Cold War Kids had such promise when they arrived on the
scene 10 years ago but now album after album, the band sound like a fraction of
their former selves and come off like a band that are still grasping for
musical straws.
FINAL GRADE: D
