resolving in my head the little knowledge that i have of frank ocean is what really intrigues me about him, i think. i first heard of frank ocean peripherally through alt/weird-rap provocateurs odd future wolfgang kill them all. i may have d/led frank oceans mixtape, nostalgia/ultra, but i dont think i really gave it the time of day @ that point. still, the idea of a straight-up - @ the very least, non-baiting - r&b singer affiliated w/ odd future was pretty compelling to me.
fast-forward half a year. odd future is creeping out of the underground, w/ nearly all the buzz centered around tyler, the creator. yet, somehow, frank ocean is tapped to be on watch the throne, the collaborative album by jay-z & kanye west, two of the most monolithic figures in pop music over the past 10-15 years. given odd future's buzz, i suppose its not unrealistic to think that jay-z & kanye are simply trying to reach for relevancy. (see, e.g., the transparent dubstep influence throughout the album.) watch the throne largely did nothing for me, but thankfully it reminded me of frank ocean.
this is probably my favorite song from nostalgia/ultra. the beat continually lurches forward, & frank ocean is all over it.
he also sounds baby smooth over the eagles
though theres plenty of mass appeal on nostalgia/ultra, it still doesnt shed light on his role w/ odd future. i havent read much on the subject, but musically, he adds depth & warmth to what can otherwise be dissonant & unsettling music, like in this song off tyler the creator's goblin.
it will be interesting to see if, as odd future's & frank ocean's exposure increase, whether frank ocean distances himself from odd future's self-seeking controversy or whether he continues to serve as a bizarre, but essential foil to the odd future rappers.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, November 27, 2010
electric wizard
electric wizards new album, black masses, came out on nov. 1, 2010. its been a while since ive thought of doom metal really, much less electric wizard. but come my fanatics & dopethrone are two of my favorite metal albums, period, so i figured the new albums gotta be worth checking out.
to be honest, ive not paid anywhere near as close attention to electric wizard's post-dopethrone output as their first two albums. i think part of the problem was just how disappointed & underwhelmed i was w/ let us prey & pretty much everything subsequently.
as a debut album, come my fanatics is about as good a statement of intent as any. to me, it took sabbath to the logical conclusion - riffs so thick & heavy they have the consistency & viscosity of molasses. not molasses that could preserve a mosquito. molasses that could preserve a mammoth. case in point:
for me anyway, i think the immediacy of the album stems from its lack of compromise. theres a certain oppressive atmosphere that isnt present on electric wizard's later albums. however, as the next step in the bands musical evolution, dopethrone is to come my fanatics what - hmmm - london calling was to self-titled? loveless to isnt anything? ok computer to the bends? i dont know. but i think this is probably the best song electric wizard will ever pen:
which brings me to black masses. ive only really listened through about twice, & im sure ill listen to it occasionally, but my initial reaction is pretty much the same that ive had for all of electric wizards later output - id rather just listen to their first two albums. theres a very psychedelic sound to black masses, & while its definitely still loud, its just a little too limber. which is not to say that the album is bad, really. i just think that the accessibility of the production, aesthetic, & sound makes it that much less remarkable. anyway, this song is one of the standouts for me from the new album:
around the 4-minute mark the band starts escalating the acid-tinged space freak-out & pretty much never lets up. pretty sweet, actually.
to be honest, ive not paid anywhere near as close attention to electric wizard's post-dopethrone output as their first two albums. i think part of the problem was just how disappointed & underwhelmed i was w/ let us prey & pretty much everything subsequently.
as a debut album, come my fanatics is about as good a statement of intent as any. to me, it took sabbath to the logical conclusion - riffs so thick & heavy they have the consistency & viscosity of molasses. not molasses that could preserve a mosquito. molasses that could preserve a mammoth. case in point:
for me anyway, i think the immediacy of the album stems from its lack of compromise. theres a certain oppressive atmosphere that isnt present on electric wizard's later albums. however, as the next step in the bands musical evolution, dopethrone is to come my fanatics what - hmmm - london calling was to self-titled? loveless to isnt anything? ok computer to the bends? i dont know. but i think this is probably the best song electric wizard will ever pen:
which brings me to black masses. ive only really listened through about twice, & im sure ill listen to it occasionally, but my initial reaction is pretty much the same that ive had for all of electric wizards later output - id rather just listen to their first two albums. theres a very psychedelic sound to black masses, & while its definitely still loud, its just a little too limber. which is not to say that the album is bad, really. i just think that the accessibility of the production, aesthetic, & sound makes it that much less remarkable. anyway, this song is one of the standouts for me from the new album:
around the 4-minute mark the band starts escalating the acid-tinged space freak-out & pretty much never lets up. pretty sweet, actually.
Friday, November 19, 2010
matthew mondanile
matthew mondanile is the common link b/w real estate, ducktails, & predator vision.
real estate's s/t album is very unassuming upon casual listen, but its probably become one of my favorite albums that ive discovered this year. & if i could be bothered to keep up w/ new music or to compulsively compile lists, im sure it would have been on my top 10 of last year.
wikipedia describes the band as 'psychedelic surf pop,' which is about as good a description as any, i guess. the only thing ill add to that is that @ times i hear galaxie 500, which may explain why i love the album so much. this is the obvious standout track from the album, which also happens to bear the strongest galaxie 500 influence, imo. but pretty much every song on the album is solid.
i dont know all that much about ducktails. the only things i have are 'landscapes' & a split w/ dracula lewis on not not fun. the nnf split is pretty pointless i think, which is hard for me to say b/c i really dig nnf. the thing about 'landscapes' is that there are flashes of real estate, especially on the three-song run of 'spring,' 'oh magnolia tree,' & 'wishes.' i realize that they are entirely different projects, but you could probably trim down 'landscapes' to just those three songs, & it would be a better album than it presently is. its hard for me to choose a favorite out of the aforementioned ducktails songs, but why not.
as little as i know about ducktails, i know less about predator vision. the only thing i have by pv is a split w/ sun araw. pv's side is a fairly long jam that is only half interesting. it seems to me that pv emphasizes the elements of ducktails that i think are weak - meandering, hazy noise a la skaters. theres a time & place for all that, but i think mondaniles got this psych pop thing down.
real estate's s/t album is very unassuming upon casual listen, but its probably become one of my favorite albums that ive discovered this year. & if i could be bothered to keep up w/ new music or to compulsively compile lists, im sure it would have been on my top 10 of last year.
wikipedia describes the band as 'psychedelic surf pop,' which is about as good a description as any, i guess. the only thing ill add to that is that @ times i hear galaxie 500, which may explain why i love the album so much. this is the obvious standout track from the album, which also happens to bear the strongest galaxie 500 influence, imo. but pretty much every song on the album is solid.
i dont know all that much about ducktails. the only things i have are 'landscapes' & a split w/ dracula lewis on not not fun. the nnf split is pretty pointless i think, which is hard for me to say b/c i really dig nnf. the thing about 'landscapes' is that there are flashes of real estate, especially on the three-song run of 'spring,' 'oh magnolia tree,' & 'wishes.' i realize that they are entirely different projects, but you could probably trim down 'landscapes' to just those three songs, & it would be a better album than it presently is. its hard for me to choose a favorite out of the aforementioned ducktails songs, but why not.
as little as i know about ducktails, i know less about predator vision. the only thing i have by pv is a split w/ sun araw. pv's side is a fairly long jam that is only half interesting. it seems to me that pv emphasizes the elements of ducktails that i think are weak - meandering, hazy noise a la skaters. theres a time & place for all that, but i think mondaniles got this psych pop thing down.
the dovers
my roommate, who is one of the most knowledgeable people i know about music, put me on to these guys. we were trading youtube links this summer & this song really caught my ear.
reading through the youtube comments, i also found out that atlas sound (side project of bradford cox, of deerhunter fame) sampled this song. the atlas sound song, 'walkabout' (which also features noah lennox, aka 'panda bear,' of animal collective fame) is pretty good, though it seems fairly obvious to me that the song would be nothing w/o the dovers sample.
anyhow - back to the dovers - this is probably my second favorite song of theirs ive heard. im in love w/ the guitar chimes b/w the verses.
reading through the youtube comments, i also found out that atlas sound (side project of bradford cox, of deerhunter fame) sampled this song. the atlas sound song, 'walkabout' (which also features noah lennox, aka 'panda bear,' of animal collective fame) is pretty good, though it seems fairly obvious to me that the song would be nothing w/o the dovers sample.
anyhow - back to the dovers - this is probably my second favorite song of theirs ive heard. im in love w/ the guitar chimes b/w the verses.
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