Mar19

Donnacha Costello – Before We Say Goodbye (Review)

Donnacha Costello

Before We Say Goodbye

Released by Poker Flat


Though current hard drives never fill, RAM upgrades are unlimited and software allows myriad ideas a quick birth, many of the notorious IDM and table-core beat-smiths of the last fifteen years (i.e. Aphex Twin, kid606, Squarepusher, Caribou) abandoned the course of “faster, fresher, unique” to look back on the scores of styles only touched upon even by their own creators. This just in: Creativity Trumps Technology! Getting the itch around 2005, former Forcelab and Mille Plateaux darling Donnacha Costello switched gears, casting off his glitch (i.e. Together is the New Alone), to develop music based on a limited palette of pads, synthetic strings, steady rhythms and otherwise warmth associated with Progressive House. As per the genre, Costello guides each pulse-driven track with a “greater emphasis on emotion before structural considerations” (Wikipedia’s definition, so please don’t spam, correct, flame or sue me). In other words, he isn’t as concerned with the 32 bar DJ intro or the build of filtering acid as crafting his mood – a supple one better paired with Sunday morning Scrabble than Saturday night debauchery (though the stomping “Roll It Out” is suitable for post-brunch bocce).

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Mar18

jj – jj n° 3 (Review)

jj

jj n° 3

Released by Secretly Canadian/Sincerely Yours


Sweden’s latest indie buzz band, jj, veer toward the electronica-tinged pop sounds of their countrypeople—think Robyn, The Knife, Air France—on sophomore record jj n° 3, proving there’s no need to ditch a profitable formula. But jj’s elusive, publicity-eschewing band members Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander, know the secret to a steady output of bright, shiny records is not-so-happy underpinnings, bringing a sense of humanity to what, on the surface, can come across as lullaby music.

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Mar16

DJ Babu – The Beat Tape, Vol. 2 (Review)

DJ Babu

The Beat Tape, Vol. 2

Released by Dilated Junkie


DJ Babu, of the world famous Beat Junkies and turntablist-mastermind behind the Dilated Peoples’ headnodding work, is at it again in a follow-up to his 2007 instrumental The Beat Tape Vol. 1 with the aptly named record: The Beat Tape Vol. 2. With his already impressive discography and genre-defining work on Super Duck Breaks (1996), Super Duper Duck Breaks (2000), and the Duck Season series, DJ Babu is no newcomer to the beatmaking game. A pioneer in his own right, DJ Babu has been a prominent name in hip-hop since his introduction to the culture and has contributed vast amounts of innovation through his innovative and creative musical efforts. The Beat Tape Vol. 2, like its predecessor, is an album of short one-to-three-minute instrumental beats that showcase the versatility of DJ Babu’s abilities on the wheels of steel. His work has continually evolved, providing the soundscapes to the ever-changing world of hip-hop music. On The Beat Tape Vol. 2, DJ Babu comes correct with a dark and ominous flavor, a textured, layered, and intricately composed selection of satisfying compositions.  Installments such as “Manferd,” and “What R U Doing,” are two of the tracks that reveal a subterranean coolness rarely found in hip-hop these days.

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Mar16

Freelance Whales – Weathervanes (Review)

Freelance Whales

Weathervanes

Released by French Kiss/Mom + Pop


Maybe it’s all the banjo that gives the amiable sounds of this New York band’s debut an almost naïve charm. There are bright chords and fresh-faced sounds aplenty, but make no mistake, Freelance Whales' indie-pop sounds are distinct and fully realized as their debut album shows depth, range and inventiveness. Belying their urban origins, the band’s music evokes the pastoral spaciousness of rural isolation. However, this is no backcountry outpost lost in time, but a high-tech organic operation producing rich sounds by cross-pollinating synthpop’s energetic melodics with folk-driven instrumentation. The results have a charismatic earnestness that avoids being cloying, and Weathervanes plays out with a wondrous sense of open-eyed adventure and finely crafted compositions.

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Mar16

The Strange Boys – Be Brave (Review)

The Strange Boys

Be Brave

Released by Rough Trade


It would be easy to make comparisons when it comes to Austin, TX garage rock band The Strange Boys--all the requisite Southern rocking, croaky singing, fuzz-boxing elements are there. On their second studio album, Be Brave, the once-punk, six-member band do their best to subvert any cliches about their musical M.O. by channeling dusty guitars, harmonicas and organs. The decidely lo-fi production renders the music more modern than old, more organic than glam.

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Mar15

Choc Quib Town – Oro (Review)

Choc Quib Town

Oro

Released by Nacional Records


Choco Quib Town is a highly acclaimed Afro-Colombian trio from the blackest and poorest region -- the city of Quibdó in the state of Chocó, and this is their US debut album, Oro. More than one-third of Colombia’s population are of African descent, and the trio is representing a sound that is different from the typical majority of South American music -- actually, it’s similar to that of Brazil. They mix tropical hip hop, traditional Latin and African rhythms, ragga, merengue, and electronica (no cumbia). These are the hybrid urban sounds of Colombia's Pacific coast and it represents the Afro-Colombian neighborhoods they grew up in and the various musical styles that surround them. They were nominated for best new artist at the Latin Grammys, and Oro is a compilation of tracks previously released outside of US, and features production by Richard Blair (Sidestepper). Choco Quib Town have been going strong for a decade, but just now getting the rest of the world to take notice.

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