Track of the Moment: Hey Mami by Sylvan Esso

What do you get when you mix Purity Ring with Fiona Apple? That’s a question most don’t ask, but Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn did. And boy was it a question worth answering.

Amelia Meath is the frontwoman of Mountain Man (it’s ironic and they’re folk, so you know they got mad hipster cred), while Nick Sanborn is the bassist for Megafun, a psychedelic folk band. 

This is almost a surprising combination – who would think that folk vocals would think that folk vocals and electronic music would work so well together? But Sanborn’s beats are slow, pulsing, match perfectly with Meath’s soaring and almost mournful vocals that harmonize at just the right moments. The electronic crescendos are impressive; they both grab your attention and fade into the background into a deep, pleasant hum. They fade away almost completely at times, allowing Meath’s voice shine through, before coming in and lifting the entire song up far past anything each element could do on its own.

“Hey Mami” is a great example of this. The first half of the song sounds like a recording of a street performer, the din of the city faintly heard in the background as Meath casually sings. The lyrics are about a sexy girl who is the object of desire of all the guys in a most likely Hispanic district of New York, referencing an ass that draws the attention of all the boys she passes (not actual lyrics, but damn if that’s not a decent line). Her voice is strong and powerful, heartily belting out lines about bodegas and cat calls. Sanborn slowly begins adding claps, then bells, before finally coming with distorted electronics. While Purity Ring tends to aim for the glitchy, fast paced instrumentals, Sylvan Esso takes their time with more static notes, letting them linger, letting you absorb the sonic landscape as it gently floats by. They only exist to make the song bigger and bolder, a selfless act that has created an amazing piece of art.

So far, they only have a 2 song EP out, if you can even call it an EP. The vinyl has both the songs, along with the instrumentals and the accapella, so that’s cool, if you’re into remixing. You can also get the songs on iTunes and Amazon, if you’re a filthy casual who may or may not be into remixing

I’m usually very verbose, as any of my reviews can tell you, but Sylvan Esso has left me speechless. They don’t have much out right now, but I can see good things in their future, and I’m awaiting their next release. In the mean time, I'll just have to like this.

New Jersey White Boy's Rap of the Week: "Control" by Kendri...I mean Big Sean featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica

So, I was writing another article, and I decided put it on pause, because I got “Control” on repeat. I know what you’re saying “Eric, you hate Big Sean. How could you love one of his songs?” And to that I say, you clearly missed the part where the title said “featuring Kendrick Lamar”. Now, I was planning on skipping this song – Kdot has done features, all of which have been solid, but generally not too notable. Plus, as someone who’s not too fond of BS, as Mr. Strawman pointed out earlier, I wasn’t too excited. Yes, Jay Electronica’s on it, but I don’t really care about him. He’s just not my thing.

But then I finally sat down and heard the song.

Holy fuck I’m never ever going to sleep on a Lamar feature ever again. He could be on a Solja Boy track, and I’ll sit through it. It could be 33 chapters of incoherent, outlandish storytelling, and I’ll sit through it all, just to hear Kendrick Lamar rap at the very end of it. I’ll shoot a bootlegger, that’s how good I feel about this shit.

Kendrick Lamar owns this track. Big Sean has an okay verse, starting off good, falling off, then getting average again. Like usual. Jay Electronica puts down a solid verse, like he always does, and it’s interesting and deep, and whatever. I don’t care. No one wants to hear about this shit, and I don’t want to talk about it.

I defy you to find a single rapper who’s hungrier than Kdot on this track. He starts off gentle, calmly explaining his verse’s thesis; that rappers today suck, and he’ll (figuratively) murder you with his verses. Ironically, he murdered Big Sean and Jay Electronica with the subsequent verse, and showed just how average Big Sean is to his fans.

Then his verse starts. My god does his verse start. Kendrick comes out swinging, aggressively growling out every line, which is impressive enough, until you realize that it’s over 3 straight minutes of that. That’s the longest verse on the track, and one of the longest I’ve ever heard. And to be able to keep that aggression and stick to the lyrical theme for that long is above reproach, particularly for a non-brag rap.

But just beyond his hungry delivery, beyond the great lyrics, is the theme. The message that he’s delivering with this verse. Most obviously is the call out on modern rap music. It’s been a line that Kdot has been towing for years, trying to get mainstream rap away from the weed, the bragging, the money, clothes, cars and hos, and now the club rapping about molly. He wants rappers to stop all that bullshit and start rapping about real things. Real issues facing both them, their community, and society as a whole. There are too many 2 Chainz’s and not enough Tupac’s, and Kendrick wants to turn that around.

Which brings him to his next point – calling out the pussy ass ho niggas, and claiming he’s the best. He leads off by comparing himself to Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, and Andre 3000, saying his name should join the best rapper alive conversation. He also tells all of his contemporaries – "new niggas" like Drake, Joey Bada$$, Pusha T, etc. – to go fuck themselves if they think they can even try to enter that conversation. This is most simply stated by the Biggie influenced line, “What’s competition?” And while he may like the people he’s doing features with, he’s still going to try to beat them. Hell, he calls out Big Sean on his own track – a move that, as far as anyone can tell, is unprecedented. He also claims to not only be the King of West Coast Rap, but the King of New York too, which pissed off a lot of New York rappers. He puts out an open challenge to the entire industry, saying “come on, prove me wrong. Step up, put up 50 straight bars like I did, and do it better than me.”

Kendrick has finally arrived. This verse has stopped hip hop in its tracks, and made everyone sit back and think about this verse. Everyone is talking about it, throwing opinions out there and discussing the impact (definitely watch that link), writing and recording response tracks. As of this moment, Kendrick Lamar is at the top of the rap genre, and if you want to dethrone the King Kendrick, you can’t come at him with any weak verses. You can’t sit there and brag about the million dollar home you have, the Gucci you wear, the car you drive. You can’t talk about the drugs you do, the girls you bang, the albums you sell. You can’t even talk about the beats you get. Kendrick isn’t talking about any of that, and he doesn’t care about any of that. You want to come at him? Come at him with bars, delivery, lyrics. Come at him with substance. Elevate your game and do it better than him. And that’s his goal – to make the genre what it once was, and get that respect back. Get people to stop Instagramming and Tweeting, and starting writing and editing their lines. Make people look at rap as an art form that has substance. And I think he’ll succeed, for now at least.

“I'm tryna raise the bar high/Who tryna jump and get it?”

New Jersey White Boy's Rap of the Week: Yeezus by Kanye West

Fun Fact - This picture was actually from 2006 for the cover of Rolling Stone,
after Late Registration tore up the Grammys

So, I’ve been bumping Yeezus all day, every day. And let me tell you, it’s… slightly above average.

Kanye West has spent his career trying to reconcile his two halves – his pop-rap leanings, and pushing the boundaries of rap as an art. It started out as trying to talk about real issues during the time gangsta rap was massive. It moved to pushing other boundaries, like defining stadium rap sounds (Graduation), what emo rap is (808’s and Heartbreak), and dark sounds with rap (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). Here, we see him try to reconcile all of the iterations of Kanye, while pushing what industrial pop-rap sounds like. Think Death Grips, but meant for the radio/hood. If it sounds like a monumental task that might come out as a relatively incohesive mess, well, you’d be right.

The album essentially is in two parts – the more industrial, “fuck the system” first half, and the “I did what I wanted to do” second half. The first two singles, if you can call them that, “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” are standouts on the first half, criticizing corporations for exploiting people, but also the materialistic culture of young Americans who feed into it. He also addresses racism – the racism he sees from the rich white people he rubs shoulders with, along with the racism black culture throws at him for “acting white” (which might also be taken to rail against the “hood” mentality of a lot of young black people). The beats are open, dark, and rough, featuring blaring synths, distorted basslines, screams, scared panting, and heavy drums.

Where's Daniel Tosh to say "high fashion"

“I Am a God” will be the song people cite when they say how arrogant, douchey, and full of himself West is, because people don’t like to listen deeper than the music. But that’s a different article for another day. Regardless, with a title like that, it’s hard not to believe that it’s just based on his egotism. But I have a different theory, but you have to only look at this album, not at Ye, not at his public persona, nor at his earlier albums. This fits squarely in the criticism of the “hood” mentality. This is a hyperbolic brag that you would see Lil B The Based God do, who I’ve already established is a parody of the current state of rap (he named a mixtape God’s Father; come on). Lyrically, it’s a tad weak and laughable - “In a French-ass restaurant/Hurry up with my damn croissants” is an actual line from the song. He even has a conversation with Jesus, and rather than, you know, talking about real things with the GOD DAMN SON OF GOD, he chooses to spend that time bragging about how he’s “trying to stack these millions”. And every time “God” shows up, aka when “I am a God” is pitched down, Kanye screams, as though he’s being punished for saying something like that. To me, that sounds like a pretty harsh critique of the ridiculousness of the brags a lot of rappers put out (“I’m so fly I can sue an airplane”), and that by making these brags, they'll be punished in heaven for it. It’s hard to say if that’s right, but it would fit with the theme of the first half and makes me sound like an intellectual, so I’m going with that.

“Hold My Liquor” serves as a good transition from the first half of the album to the second half. Chief Keef is completely unrecognizable, slurring his way through an autotuned hook. And quite frankly, it’s the best thing Keef has ever done. He and Kanye are incredibly open and vulnerable about their alcohol abuse, saying how they “can’t handle no liquor”; they act reckless and stupid when drunk, but the pain of their daily life is too much to handle sober. However, Kanye, who has admitted to having an alcohol problem after the Swift Incident, is still (hopefully) sober 4 years later. So good for him. It also features Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) in a minimal role. It’s not a song that stands out on the album, but it is slowly becoming one of my favorite from the album.

Gasp! It's the Illuminati!

The second half of the album seems like it’s a bunch of leftover material from 808’s; a lot of depressing, break up lyrics. “Blood on the Leaves” takes an inspired, amazing sample of the Nina Simone version of “Strange Fruit”, the powerful poem/song about the brutal lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith and chops it up in a way only Yeezus could. The beat is amazing, like a more hyped up beat off of 808’s, and, like a beat off of 808’s, Kanye spends half of it “singing” with some heavy autotune. It talks about a rough divorce, along with a few recycled themes from “Gold Digger”. His character apparently married this girl while they were hitting up the club scene, and she wants to settle down a bit, but he can’t leave the nightlife. his pastor said abortion is wrong. So he loses his wife, and now is stuck in an “unholy matrimony” of paying child support to the other woman and alimony to first, making him unable to buy coke and another high-end car. I feel like he could have done something so much better with the beat and the themes of racism (you know, like what he talked about on the first half of the album) that the sample gives him. Hell, even the repetition of “blood on the leaves” could have been about the how people kill over drugs, and how it’s glorified in other rap songs. But nope, it’s a breakup song with a subplot about gold diggers and religion.
He gets a gold digging stripper or some other unreputable woman pregnant, and has to tell his wife, because that’s what a good person does. Oh, and because

The wordplay is hit or miss too, possibly intentionally. He must have been hanging out with 2Chainz 2much, because some of the lines he spits are the kind that belong in a True Religion store. “Star Wars fur, yeah I’m rocking Chewbacca”? “Eating asian pussy all I needed was sweet and sour sauce”? “Chopped ‘em both down/Don’t judge ‘em Joe Brown”? I mean, yeah, I like “your titties, let ‘em out, free at last/thank God almighty, they free at last”, but come on, that other stuff is Lil Wayne punchlines, not Kanye West punchlines. I mean, he got signed off the strength of the line “Mayonnaise colored Benz/I push Miracle Whips”. I expect better.

What I do know is that Kanye is now all about saying “fuck you” to the system. Hell, he didn't care that the album leaked. Which is the whole point of this album – Kanye made an album in protest to the consumerist society we live in today. It’s anti-corporation and anti-materialism, and a lot of it plays like he made something he truly wanted, without regard to whether it would sell. I’m actually a little surprised he didn’t release it for free, a la the amazing NO LOVE DEEP WEB. Although it would make sense, since his label seems to take down any Youtube videos of the singles. Regardless, he doesn’t care if people love this album, hate this album, or whatever. And I do commend him on trying to push the industrial sound I love from Death Grips into the pop arena, and doing what he wanted to do. But damn, I wish it was better.

Overall, it’s not Kanye’s strongest album. In fact, if you count Cruel Summer as a Yeezy album, this is his 3^rd worse. Which still makes it a better than average album (I’d give it a 6.5-7/10, if we had rating system here), and I enjoy a good portion of the tracks. “Bound 2”, “I’m In It”, and pretty much the entire first half are all things I’ll be bumping for a while. Even “Blood on the Leaves” is great solely on the strength of the production.

But his skills as a rapper have fallen off since MBDTF, even though there have been a few stellar tracks since then. I mean, you can point to the fact that he’s lost of a lot of the micromanaging of his vision like he had in the past (the number of editors, writers, producers, vocalists, and sound engineers is too damn high), or that he’s gained a level of fame that puts him out of touch with real people, or that the lack of drugs/alcohol in his system has driven him insane, or the death of his mother has left him without any guidance and in a constant state of grief. Whatever it is, Kanye needs to take a step back, raise his new daughter, and spend a lot of time working on his own stuff, by himself. It’s a shame he didn’t that here, because the potential was there.

Like this review? Like me? Love me? What to see more of me/reviews? Then the power of Yeezus compels you to like us on Facebook, because there weren't enough links here already.

New Jersey White Boy's Rap of the Week: Indicud by Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi is the most tragic story in music today. Some might say Amy Winehouse is much sadder story, but trust me, Kid Cudi is worst. You start off with a young star, making a name for himself in the Chicago mixtape game. He gets signed by one of the biggest, most talented Chicago rappers of all time. He lets the fame, and drugs, go to his head, and ends up a strung out, overconfident, wasted talent. Amy Winehouse was able to find dignity in death; Scott Mescudi has none left.

If there’s a better story about why you shouldn't do drugs as a famous person, Kid Cudi is it. And Indicud is his insanity plea.

Just look at the first single, “Just What I Am”. He starts off with the bridge “I. Need. Smoke. I. Need. To smoke” and the hook “I wanna get high y’all/need it need it to get by y’all”. Then he launches into a verse where he says that he’s punching walls and “fucking up [his] hand”, he doesn't need a shrink’s advice on how to deal with his mental illness (because he can diagnose and treat himself), and that his prescription isn't working compared to his usual routine of being high every waking second of the day. This is the point where family members and friends would step in and convene an intervention to get him some help.

Then in “King Wizard” he leads off with a blunt inhalation and saying “fuck you” to all the people who aren't his family, friends, fans, or “people who care about him”. In other words, if you don’t agree with him, you’re not worth his time. Which the exact symptom cocaine. And speaking of coke, “Girls” comes off as 1970’s coked up, sex-fueled LA or Miami trip through the upper class. Cudi apparently so rich that he doesn't even see any girl less than a 9 because of the places he goes, and he knows he’ll be able to have sex with all of them. It less of “I got a bunch of bitches” brag and more of a “my life is a blur, filled with drugs and sex, which is exactly what happens right people the protagonist dies in every movie like that” song.

The amount of drugs you need to think that you look good in that would make Tony Montana blush

“Afterwards” fits right into the over-confident, creepy, coke vibe of the whole thing. Michael Bolton provides some interesting vocals to the song. At first its’ a cool, fun hook he throws in – “we should go to my home/afterwards, come on/bring your friends/we should go to home/afterward, come on” he belts out in Bolton-y fashion, beckoning these hot and drunk girls to his house after the club shuts down for….  I’m assuming a nap and some prune juice, given his age. But then it repeats. And repeats. And keeps going, taking on a rapey vibe, especially considering how much older Michael Bolton than your average club girl. And then it’s just the beat, cautionary synths, and “bring your friends”. It’s creepy as hell, and makes it sound like he wants to fit a week’s worth of rape/murder into one night because he’s too busy being Michael Bolton to spread it out. It’s supposed to be Kid Cudi’s magnum opus, similar to Frank Ocean’s “Pyramids”. Except “Afterwards” has Michael Bolton, while “Pyramids” is a pretty decent song.

You can hear the cocaine seeping through every note on every track. That gaudy, over the top, flashy-but-not-substantive production. The swagging vocals with not much to back it up (“He will provide me with a nine if I need or a streetsweeper”? Really? You’ll shoot a guy Kid Cudi?). The overconfidence in the “fuck people who don’t agree with me” lyrics. The slurred, mumbled delivery. While I would say that Moon Man 2 was his most weed and depression inspired album, his last 2 albums have just become increasingly drug and psychosis inspired. It’s a tragedy to see an artist that I saw as the king of the sad and lonely turn down a path of utter self-destruction, from the relatable weed smoker to the heavy stoner to the strung out rocker to the relapsing druggy. It’s honestly one of the most poignant stories of real consequences to mental illness and heavy drug abuse on a talented individual in a long time.

Just listen to the difference between “Solo Dolo” and “Solo Dolo Part 2”. It’s insane to hear how much hear heart and honesty and realness and reality and depressing relatability he had on Part 1. Especially when you compare it to the mostly gaudy, pseudo-depressingly flashy elements of LA rich society that he had on part 2. When will he ever learn from the words in his songs that he needs honest counseling and strict rehab. He could have been a contender, and he took a dive in the 4^th to make a few bucks.

I mean, if Kid Cudi’s entire career is an act, a character, a planned stunt of some kind, it’s one of the most long term, impressive stunts I've ever seen, and rivals the Ziggy Stardust saga. I mean, look at his interview with Complex for the making of WZRD – he’s trying to be Jimi Hendrix, and we know where that ended up. And this album would be the centerpiece album in the 4 album concept career. But the thing is, I’m 99% certain that this is real life for him, and it’s horrible to have to witness it.

As a Cudi fan from the first time “Day N Nite” grace my ears so many years ago, I feel obligated to say that he needs professional help, to go to rehab, and to quit all the drugs. It’s done nothing but ruin what I saw as a thoughtful, depressed, talented artist. And it’s certainly depressing.

Pick of the Moment: Paramore by Paramore

Paramore has done something that’s hard, if not impossible to do – to change what your music is about, but to keep your sound and original fans. But somehow, they've done it, and done it spectacularly on their 4^th album.

If you were alive in 2007, you’re familiar with emo music. And if you weren’t alive then, you should get off the computer and study for kindergarten. Emo music was everywhere, and every rock band on the radio made it. Panic! At the Disco, Fallout Boy, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance, and Linkin Park were on repeat on my mp3 player, along with millions of other kids around the world. But Paramore was slightly different – they had a female lead singer. A very, very, very hot female singer. This brought in a trend of emo/alternative bands with female leads like Flyleaf and Hey Monday. However, Paramore is the only band from that era still kicking today. Why? Because they've evolved in a way that doesn't alienate their fan base, but matches the waves and trends in contemporary music, and this album is a culmination of that.

Their previous effort, brand new eyes, hinted at the new direction they would be going for Paramore. bne had a mix of love songs and I hate you songs, the latter being what they had traditionally done, and was what every other alternative band had done before them. But these love songs were something new, and, at least for me, was a refreshing change for both the band and the genre as a whole.

The best way I can describe the songs here is that they are aggressive love songs. I mean, look at “Be Alone”. It starts off in a fairly standard, aggressive way, but then we reach the chorus and Hayley sings out “You should be alone/Yeah, you should be alone/You should be alone with me”. It keeps the normal alt-rock attitude and sound, but it’s a song about how much she’s into a dude, and how he should totally hang out with her because it’ll be totally awesome. Totes. Same with “Still Into You”; it’s all about how, even after all this time, she’s still in love her guy, with a traditional alternative rock backing. It’s sweet, it’s touching, it’s headbang worthy.

There’s a few of the angry songs, but they aren't really angry. They come across as more of an acceptance of facts, an attempt to move on and separate from the past, and if they have to do it angrily, then so be it. Even “Part 2”, which is a sequel to “Let the Flames Begin” off of Riot!, takes the edge off the anger from the lyrics on the original track, but keeps the aggressive music somewhat intact.

And they experiment too, which is nice. They take a stab at post-rock on “Future”, mimicking Sigur Ros or God Speed You Black Emperor, in their own way. They do some sunny, beachy songs with “Moving On”, “Holiday”, and “I’m Not Angry Anymore”, all interludes on the album. “Hate To See Your Heart Break” takes on a late 50’s, early 60’s pop R&B love song feel (and by “pop”, I mean the stolen white version). It really shows off Hayley’s talent as a singer, if you ever had to question it. Plus, there’s the addition of the keyboard on nearly every track, which adds a nice, new layer to the sound.

Whatever you thought of Paramore before, ignore. Give this album, or at least a few of non-single tracks a listen. Trust me, I think you’ll like it. Know what else you'll like? Our blog on Facebook.

Best of 2012 Round-Up: Songs to Escape the Desert By by Onboard Balloon

I know it’s been a while since we put up our Best of 2012 list, but there’s still a few albums I want to talk about from my list that I, nor anyone else on the blog or the internet, has really talked much about. I’ll get to them all eventually, but for now, enjoy my thoughts on the young-ish up-and-comers, Onboard Balloon.

If you remember from a while back, I ran a review on their last album, Mixtape, and did an interview with them. If you’re interested, I really suggest you go back and read that. If you’re lazy and don’t care too much, just know that these guys are friends of the blog, and make some interesting music. OBB is a pair of brothers working out of Colorado, making music in their shed-turned-recording-studio, and it’s not like much you’ve heard before.

Songs to Escape the Desert By sees them take on a variety of sounds. It sounds like it’s just kind of a collection of songs they’ve had around since Bad Sleep, which was released in 2011. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they’re bad; there’s a good mix of songs on here from my favorite album of their’s, Mixtape, along with a few tracks mixing in more of the traditional OBB sound.

The first few tracks, however, are a good introduction to what’s in store for the next hour. The opening track, “We are Slaves”, gives marching orders against the 1%-ers and the capitalist system in America that favors the rich and punishes the poor. It’s a hyper-liberal track that anyone over at Pitchfork would jizz their pants over. It’s also a great way to be introduced to the idea of Onboard Balloon, and what they stand for. Later on, “Starbender” takes a similar stance of hating on pop musicians with angry lyrics and hard bass line and angry guitar riff. Plus the pauses in the lyrics allowed Keegan to really do some fun, angry, and interesting instrumental stuff.

The next track, “Admittance”, smacks you in the face with the schizophrenic lyrics and beat. It frequently changes pace, and at multiple points the entire beat is completely dropped for some new instrumentation. But it’s strangely appealing; you have no idea where the song is going, but every new turn is something new and exciting. On top of that, you have Lee’s refrain of “my brain hates being trapped in me”, over and over and over again during one of those beat changes, and it just gives the song a whole new level of meaning and insight into the band.

“Barleywine Bucket Babies” shows off how weird and folksy they can get. And I’ll tell you what, this song gets weird. It’s only a banjo, and Lee’s voiced creepily doubled and letting that redneck drawl shine through. The banjo has this tin-like, twangy, clipped plucking to it, as though the musician didn’t know how to hold it properly. And the lyrics – “I was boooorrrrrnnnn in a bucket”. It’s about as backwoods as you can get without picking up a mason jar of moonshine, firing your shotgun into the air, and having sex with your cousin. It's weird, it's strange, and it's fantastic.

The rest of the songs feature these aspects in various degrees, with varying success. There’s a few songs in there that you kind of glaze over, as they meld into one another, especially given the random fade outs and beat changes that pop up from time to time in the middle of a track. This could be seen as a good thing; there’s nothing like having a well structured album with songs that sound related. But, at the same time, there aren’t too many truly memorable tracks. Sure, you can remember a line or two here and there, but you mostly glaze over those tracks.

However, there are a few tracks towards the end that really catch your attention. “Reflected” is a favorite of mine. It’s towards the back of the album, where Songs starts to drop off a bit, but it really picks the album up and drop it on your head. Much like the rest of the album, it’s essentially a spoken word poem. But instead, there’s just a simple accordion breathing, then a piano comes, then a guitar chord or two – the focus is on Lee, and on his words. And my oh my, are those words powerful. “Extremely pretty/Extreme these things”, “Close to spring time/Imma watch the Earth grow/For the 26^th time/And it’s funny, this time/It feels a little different”, “Didn’t need a receipt to release the dream”. The best part is that the poem is folded upon itself; after getting to the middle of the song, Lee then goes back and repeats each line in reverse order. Even though it’s the same path you just took, it looks different after seeing the end of it, and to see it coming from a different angle. It’s a testament to the power of words and poetic structure that tends to be lost in most music today.

“On the Roof” just sounds depressing. I have very little idea about what’s going on in the song, but the narrator is on the roof, writing about a suicide and how there aren’t any bells ringing to mourn that death, even though people are talking about it. It then delves into the narrator’s interactions with a girl who killed herself, and how he wants to kill himself too. But the hook just sounds so good, so real, so honest, that you can’t help but pay attention and listen in close.

As a whole, the album is a bit of a mish-mosh of songs and styles, but it’s still uniquely Onboard Balloon. I think they have their sound, between the tracks off of Mixtape and half of the tracks on StEtDB. They just need that one album that distills that kind of music, and a little luck. Trust me, if you like new things and mindfucking lyrics, put Onboard Balloon on your list of bands to check out.

If you want their album, you can buy it on Amazon, iTunes, or wherever you want because it’s everywhere. You should also like them on Facebook, and while you’re at it, like us Frogs on Facebook too, because we’re just as cool as OBB. At least I think we are. You decide.

Best of 2012 Round-Up: channel Orange by Frank Ocean

Here’s the year-end round up, where I’ll review the albums that made our Top 10 List of 2012. Will I review all of the albums up there? God no. Fuck Swans and their 8 hour albums. I’m a busy man. But I will be cleaning up some albums that I, and some of the staff, loved from last year. So here we are. Time for the first article. Let’s get started. Okay, stop reading this awkward transition and go to the actual article.

Frank Ocean is part of Tyler, The Creator’s Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, although he seems like an outsider to me. For starters, he doesn’t really have that “fuck everything” attitude that permeates every inch of OFWGKTA’s music. But he’s also comes off as an outsider to music. And this album is a perfect distillation as to why he’s different.

For starters, he’s got this wisdom beyond his years. I was surprised to find out he was only 25. He sounds like he’s 45, and has been through hell and back in those years. He’s surprisingly calm and serene in his voice, lyrics, and music, giving it a sense that he’s come to terms everything as a truth of himself, his lovers, and the world he inhabits. There’s no anger, no joy; just cold acceptance of the harshness of reality. And his voice is a huge asset when it comes to this; he doesn’t have the strongest voice, especially compared to someone like The Weeknd or John Legend, but he’s able to make an emotional appeal that outweighs any vocal weakness.

Pandas, champagne, and lotion always make me sad

It’s hard to separate the social context of the lyrics from the album. This is partially due to the emotion behind the lyrics, but also the bombshell Ocean dropped a short time before the album’s release. You see, he came out that at 19, his first love was a man (you can read the statement there, which followed the Based God-based pre-announcement). As a straight, white male, it’s hard for me to be able to speak on how it may affect not only Frank’s career, but R&B and hip-hop music and culture. But, in essence, there’s a lot of homophobia in black culture. Prior to Obama’s support of gay marriage, only 41% of African-Americans supported it, and since Obama’s support, the leader of the Nation of Islam denounced it. Not to mention the tens of thousands of rap songs that have less than subtle homophobic undertones, or at the very least pro-heterosexual undertones. It was a major risk for Ocean to come out, but any possible damage remains to be seen.

However, this announcement gives significant context to Ocean’s lyrics. Songs like “Forest Gump” and “Thinkin’ Bout You” become that much more personal and real to the listener. Given his history of being a writer for both male and female singers, it wouldn’t be hard to think that these songs were just coming from another voice, another character. But now we can believe that these songs came from deep within, adding another layer to music with plenty of layers. In fact, this album is so layered, that it very well could be nothing more than what it presents itself – a series of beautiful, heartfelt songs.

But “Bad Religion” is the centerpiece of Ocean’s sexual identity, and one of the stand out tracks on the album, with an Islamic taxi cab driver acting as his shrink, while Ocean ponders religion, and its effects on him as a bisexual or homosexual man. Should he hate himself for being this way, or should he hate a god that he’s loved and been faithful to for his entire life? For those in the LGBT community and practice any of The Big 3 religions, this is a common conundrum they face, leading to the high rates of suicide and depression amongst those who attend gay-to-straight conversion camps. This Rap Genius article explains it better than I ever could, so read that.

I haven’t had a chance to invest too much time into his first mixtape/album thing, Nostalgia, Ultra, but if channel Orange is anything to go by, it’ll be worth a listen. There’s a reason this album is a top pick by most of our staff, and has had top finishes across a variety of publications around the world. Do yourself a favor, and check out channel Orange. Speaking of favors, do yourself another favor and like Frogs on a Log on Facebook.

Krispy Kreme's New Name

I’ve talked about how much I love my boy Kripsy Kreme. He recently came out that he was retiring that name though, by paraphrasing Shakespeare by saying that he could rap under any name and still be just as good (even as Poop-Face Pete). And the donut company would sue him if he kept rapping under it. But also that he’d be just as good.

Well, he was wrong about that. Because Froggy Fresh is better. He’s coming out with hot fire with his newest track, “Same Old Kid”, but he doesn’t sound like him. Same accent, same look, but amazing lyrics, amazing flow, and that fantastic delivery that usually only appears on KK hooks. Even his demeanor has changed; usually during videos, he’ll give a sideways glance off camera for some reason. But here, he’s focused, staring you down, daring you to step up and challenge him. It’s awesome, and I’m excited to see where FF goes.

Check the video below, and start screaming “F. Froggy Fresh”

Best Albums of 2012

So here it is, the much anticipated end of the year list from us here at the blog. Are your favorites on the list? I don’t know but ours certainly are as we made the list. First is a list of our favorite albums based on a composite score of voting. Afterwards are everyone’s favorite individual votes. Follow your favorite writers! Follow your least favorite writers! Click on a bunch of links!  Be Angry!

10 Until the Quiet Comes by Flying Lotus

9 Children of Desire by Merchandise

8 The Money Store by Death Grips

7 Shrines by Purity Ring

6 Visions by Grimes

5 The Idler Wheel… by Fiona Apple

4 good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar

3 Lonerism by Tame Impala

2 channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean

1 Swing Lo Magellan by Dirty Projectors

Steve’s Picks

10. The Money Store by Death Grips

9. R.I.P. by Actress

8. Mr. M by Lambchop

7. Sweet Heart Sweet Light by Spiritualized

6. channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean

5. Lonerism by Tame Impala

4. Swing Lo Magellan by Dirty Projectors

3. Kill for Love by Chromatics

Did people in the 1980’s listen to the Chromatics? No they didn’t. But did they listen to music like the Chromatics? I have no idea, but after listening to Kill For Love it sure seems that way. Good nostalgia evoking albums portray things as they were, but great nostalgia evoking albums portray things as we remember them, and that’s what Kill For Love does. I turn on Kill For Love and suddenly im in sunglasses, it’s the middle of the night and the sky is peppered with neon lights more numerous than the stars. Is that how it really was? Probably not, but who cares.

2. The Idler Wheel… by Fiona Apple

Fiery wit, heartbreaking vulnerability, and powerful songwriting, The Idler Wheel … is going to be on plenty of end of the year lists, and its not because the records name is so catchy. Certainly deserving of the praise, Fiona Apple comes back from a lengthy hiatus proving once more that she has got the goods, perhaps even more so than before. Her song writing is as strong as it ever was, and her voice as powerful. Mix that together with a singer that is ever the more experienced and you have got yourself a damn good record.

1. Visions by Grimes

Visions is a terrifying record in ways that don’t make any sense. There is certainly nothing frightening looking about Claire Boucher the mastermind behind Grimes. Sporting a cute haircut and a childish smile she looks like she could easily have been a character on Full House. Her voice isn’t scary either, though admittedly it is a bit strange.  But somewhere out there Claire Boucher is lurking around in the dark, and that terrifies me. Mixing industrial with ambient with pop with techno with hip-hop, Claire’s skill terrifies me. She doesn’t just borrow from these genres, she steals from them, she dances on their graves. And yet somehow Visions maintains its classiness, it mixes all of those genres tactfully into one nuanced and subtly great record.

While it certainly isn’t the most accessible album of the year, accessibility is a bridge that Claire Boucher burns with great delight. Sure, Visions has elements of pop in it, more than a few catchy hooks, but these aren’t for you, not really anyway. These sections of the album are for persons who are trying to blend genres in their own music and need guidance. Where other albums would serve as a roadmap, this one is a GPS, and a pretty damn good GPS at that, not the crappy type that doesn’t have the most updated roads. It’s tough to talk legacy on an album that only came out this year, but it is certain that the future of Visions and Grimes both are promising.

Elliot’s Picks

10. Cobra Juicy by Black Moth Super Rainbow

9. Sleepless by The Casket Girls

8. Shields by Grizzly Bear

7. Be the Void by Dr. Dog

6. Celebration Rocks by The Japandroids

5. Centipede Hz by Animal Collective

4. Bloom by Beach House

3. The Seer by Swans

I first listened to the Seer last week and I instantly knew it would be one of my favorite albums. The absolutely haunting opener, Lunacy, just sent shivers down my spine. Admittedly the album is long winded, to say the least. Clocking in at just around 2 hours, it is not so much an album as it is an adventure. Prone to characteristically long and diffuse segments of tension building instrumentation, The Seer is an album meant to be enjoyed while occupied by something else like driving, riding a train, or in my case, wrapping Christmas Presents. Like Person Pitch, the album builds on itself, making its awesome sections absolutely glorious. Though it is not necessarily better crafted than the previous albums on my list, I am a sucker for its creepy aesthetic, letting it barely squeak past Bloom to the number three spot.

2. Lonerism by Tame Impala

Whenever I put on Lonerism, I turn to whoever is with me and ask them “when was this album released?” Almost everyone answers “late 60s or early 70s?” and are then surprised when I say “nope, this October”. Lonerism is a modern classic rock album. As someone who fell in love with music listening to classic rock, I am obsessed with this album. Anyone who loves classic rock needs to listen to this album. It sounds like a more psychedelic and rocking Beatles. From the panting opener Be Above It to the beautiful melancholic finale Sun’s Coming Up, every song on the album is incredible. The real sensations are the psychedelic pop sensation Feels Like We Only Go Backwards and the thumping rock classic Elephant. Lonerism is second on my list, but only by a hair. It truly deserves to be number one.

1. Swing Lo Magellan by Dirty Projectors
I was excited for this album when I first listened to Bitte Orca last spring. How could the follow up to such an incredible album not be amazing? So when July 9th rolled around, I was so excited that I listened to Swing Lo 3 times in a row the second it came out. Sometimes, such anticipation can sully how good the album is (just look at Centipede Hz, I thought it was going to be a guaranteed number 1 and it is only number 5). However, Swing Lo Magellan did not disappoint.
Swing Lo is almost nothing like Bitte Orca. While the earlier album is baroque and alien, this new album is simple and down to earth. For a long time I debated which was better to no effect. Then I realized that the albums aren’t really comparable, they are complimentary. The two albums fit so well as counterpoints that both are made even better. Yet Swing Lo’s relationship to its predecessor makes it a great Dirty Projector’s album, its music makes it my favorite album of 2012.
Swing Lo is a rich album filled with tracks that would stand out on any other album. Yet together they become something so much more. The simple guitar serenade Swing Lo Magellan compliments the complex beats of Gun Has No Trigger. The intense opener, About to Die, stands opposite the quiet finish Irresponsible Tune. Yet despite the contrasts in the album, every song meshed perfectly together to form an album with beautiful mood and style. Swing Lo Magellan stands out to me as the best collection of songs AND the best complete album of 2012, and for that I give it my number one spot.

Mark’s Picks

10. channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean

9. Visions by Grimes

8. The Haunted Man by Bat for Lashes

7. Metz by Metz

6. Shrines by Purity Ring

5. The Lion’s Roar by First Aid Kit

4. The Money Store by Death Grips

3. Fear Fun by Father John Misty

I think it would be kind of daunting to try and go from “The Fleet Foxes’ drummer” to solo artist.  The whole hipster world comes to a stand still when they drop an album.  Obviously the best thing you can do is make the kind of music that feels real to you.  J. Tillman has a number of solo albums before this endeavor, but they neither sound like this nor are as powerful. 

Calling every one of these songs folk is selling their diversity a little short.  There are great folk tracks, but some more into other territories.  The one thing they all share is Tillman’s fantastic knack for songwriting.  They are clever, sad, biting, witty, or whatever else he needs them to be.  They are all supposed to be based around things that happened to him while making the album, and he certainly puts enough personality into them that either that’s true or he’s a unbelievable liar.  

2. End of Daze by The Dum Dum Girls

Before this EP I was a bit skeptical of these guys.  They could make an amazing single, but their albums lacked a certain cohesion that made them harder to take seriously.  From the first trebling note I heard off of this EP I knew there wouldn’t be much more doubt coming from me.

Every track is just a pop song, but it manages to have just as much meaning as any other track you’d find on this list.  “Trees and Flowers” personifies anguish and “Lord Knows” holds more regret then words along could.  That’s very pretty and all, but this album also hold as much hazy guitar, heavy drums, and beautiful vocals that these girls are known for.  I wish there were more girl pop bands like this one.  I’m sure there are, but until I find them I’ll stick with these guys.

1. Children of Desire by Merchandise

It’s funny to think that you love a piece of music.  That is implying a lot.  Love isn’t something you should take lightly; because it’ll lose its meaning if you just throw it around.  Something you truly love changes your view on everything else and brings you to a higher level of understanding.  To say I love this album wouldn’t be doing it justice.

Everything about this album is done right.  The opening track slowly materializes in just in time to introduce its presence and vanishes.  Each track is exactly as long as they need to be, and are saturated with enough sound to keep you exploring for quite a while.  The songs are so catchy without getting stuck in your head like bubblegum.  Every song belongs to the album in the same way as limbs to a body.

One of the coolest things about this album is its attitude.  You can tell these guys love their music, but in no way making it out to be anything more then it is.  They’d rather you just listen then talk about it.  It’s so primarily pure, music because of music. 

I have listened to this album a number of times since I first posted the article about it a few months ago, and every time I do I find there’s something crucial I should have included.  I could keep going back, but that would be stupid, so I’m just going to say listen, and hope that you get something even remotely close to what I got out of this album.

Eric’s Picks

10. Songs to Escape the Desert to by Onboard Balloon

9. Until the Quiet Comes by Flying Lotus

8. Coexist by The XX

7. Ufabulum by Squarepusher

6. Shrines by Purity Ring

5. NO LOVE DEEP WAVE by Death Grips

4. channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean

3. Narrow by Soap&Skin

I’ve been a longtime champion of Soap&Skin ever since I heard of her earlier this year. Anja is the dream of every angsty teen girl – she’s pretty, extremely talented, and super famous. Well, super famous in Europe, but it’s something. She’s dark and sad, but not in any annoying way like the 8 million emo bands out there. She doesn’t rely on traditional images of hearts and blackness and tears and scars; she writes high-level poetry that would make a Walt Whitman fan proud. If that wasn’t enough, she has the voice of an angel and the ability to put the so much emotion, and right amount of emotion, into every syllable. She also writes/sings in English and German, and can sing in French. And let’s not forget her compositions – she’s an amazing pianist, and can also work with electronic music and choirs. It’s just amazing how talented she is, and this album displays all of that talent so well.

2. The Money Store by Death Grips

As you can see if you looked ahead (cheater), Death Grips makes this list twice. Yes, they are that good. Yes, I rescind a lot of my comments from my review of NO LOVE DEEP WEB. That said, NLDW wasn’t as good as The Money Store – they lost that rawness that I loved, and put the focus on MC Ride, which left very sparse and open beats. But it was still good. But TMS is a revelation, both now, and when it came out. It was raw, it was aggressive, it was rap, it was hardcore, it was punk. It shook walls, and made me feel alive and angry. It was new and exciting and different for rap, and something I hadn’t seen done this well. And it was awesome.  It just missed out being #1 because it’s just a little too out there, and has lost a touch of that edge it once had so many moons ago.

1.  good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar

If you don’t think this will be considered our Illmatic, our Blueprint, then you don’t know music and need to leave. This album is a monumental achievement for not only Kendrick, not only rap, but for music as a whole. You want flow? I’ve talked about Kendrick’s flow in the past, and it’s just as on point, if not more so, here. You want braggadocio? “Backseat Freestyle” has some of the best and most ridiculous brags ever.  You want beats? Dr. Dre, Hit-Boy, and Just Blaze all lend their talents to this album. You want realness? You want storytelling? This is a concept album detailing a bad day in Compton that Kendrick may or may not have had. But it’s painted with such clarity, such emotion, such cogency, that you don’t know how much is made up. This is simply the best release you’ll hear all year, hands down, in just about any genre. You may not get it on the first listen, or even the second, or even on the 10^th, but there’s something compelling about the album that makes you want to go back and listen to it again. And each time, you’ll get something new out of it; something will reveal itself, or you’ll think of it in a new way, or something that will change what the album means to you. It’s like the movie Dazed and Confused – it’s written so subtly, that you don’t even realize how perfect it is. That’s how you know it’s perfect.

John’s Picks

10. Blunderbuss by Jack White

9.  Visions by Grimes

8. Kaleidoscope Dream by Miquel

7.  Shields by Grizzly Bear

6. Lonerism by Tame Impala

5. The Idler Wheel… by Fiona Apple

4. Until the Quiet Comes by Flying Lotus

3.  good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar

If you can top Flying Lotus, you’re really saying something in my book. That’s what Kendrick Lamar was able to do with “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City”. It’s probably not fair to say that an album “feels” like a classic, but you can hear that Lamar is on to something from the get go. Think “Illmatic”, but more personal and paranoid. Even if you’re not following the overall narrative of Lamar’s experiences in the streets, the dark and tough beats represent his struggle masterfully. Then Lamar truly lets down his guard on “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst”, and the elegant strings lift his personal plight into the stratosphere.

2.  Swing Lo Magellan by Dirty Projectors

I thought that the next Dirty Projectors record would be good, but I never dreamed that it would make me completely forget about “Bitte Orca” for a while. And I was stunned when it made me question why they would even make “Bitte Orca” when they can make “Swing Lo Magellan”. The album is still messy Dirty Projectors, but it’s a lot more accessible than years past. A tasteful guitar solo on “Dance For You”, the poignant “Just From Chevron” and the minimal/maximal “Gun Has No Trigger”; these are the amazing benefits of a great band doing more with less.

1. channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean

I’m the “R&B guy” of the blog, in case you didn’t know. Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince, D’Angelo and Parliament/Funkadelic are my cup of tea. No question that Channel Orange played into my tendencies. I know it’s an album that I would probably like, regardless of how “artistic” it is. But let’s be real here. Channel Orange is arguably the most complete and poignant statement by any artist this year, period. The buzz that initially surrounded this record was that “Thinking About You” was about how his first love was a man. That’s an extremely courageous confession from a bisexual artist working in a staunchly heterosexual genre. The tension from coping with this first love—“unrequited,” as stated in “Bad Religion”—is palpable on certain key moments of the record. The rest of the time, Ocean is frank (pun intended) and observant, but seems emotionally numb himself. He describes the “Sweet Life” and the multi-part odyssey that is “Pyramids,” but lets the chips fall where they may. That attitude is in stark contrast to the very emotive music behind him, creating songs both powerful and strangely beautiful. Ocean may sound bored, but he’s far from a boring singer. His melodies, no matter how subtle or muted, contribute heavily to the raw emotion that permeates this record. Skip right to “If it brings me to my knees” on “Bad Religion” and you’ll know what I mean. Frank Ocean has said that he might not make another album. I would actually content with that, given that he has likely made the statement of his life—and of 2012—with this sweeping masterpiece

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