Hozier - "Wasteland, Baby!" (2019)

I was initially incredibly disappointed by this record. Hozier's 2014 self titled debut was this intensely soulful release, packed full of blissful highs and deep, dark lows with a very twisted and sinister imagery regarding lust, religion and death. Last year he also dropped a great teaser EP for this release titled Nina Cried Power, so I was expecting good things from this. Although I feel the record is better than my initial reaction to it, it is not without its flaws which do bog down the enjoyment for me.

The album opens with the title track of last years EP, a stomping protest song featuring excellent vocals from the incredibly talented Mavis Staples. While I did really enjoy the song when I first heard it, over the subsequent listens of the EP and album I feel like I have got all I can out of the song and there's nothing new it can give me. I think this is probably due to the vagueness of the lyrics making it feel like it isn't really saying anything I can get behind, besides the general 'let's inspire people!'. The next track, Almost (Sweet Music), is where the problems start to show. The tune is this light, upbeat, poppy one; which in itself is fine. However the bass and drums are so overdone in the mix that it sounds somewhere in-between some kind of Ibiza club tune and one of those annoyingly ear-wormy Shaun Mendez singles.

This kind of awkward commercialisation of Hozier's style is rampant in the first half of the record. Movement is this album's attempt at the dark, brooding, building single (a la Take Me To Church). However this song feels so pristine and manufactured, without any of the sinister imagery which made those moments work on the first album. It sounds like someone trying to imitate Hozier's style without any of the nuance. The only truly great moment on the first half is No Plan, a slick song with a groovy bass about just living life and not worrying about a plan. Hozier's vocals soar above this effortlessly cool tune. All the edgeless commercialisation comes to a head in To Noise Making (Sing), a track about as cringily twee as a Train song.

Luckily after this point the album really regains some footing, and while not every song is a complete smash, there is a consistent level of quality the record maintains. Every song is at least decent. Highlights include the back to back folk due of As It Was and Shrike, and Dinner & Diatribes. As It Was is moody and dark, whereas Shrike (also featured on the Nina Cried Power EP) is much more relaxed. Both tracks are simple and restrained, allowing Hozier's soulful lyrics to shine. Dinner & Diatribes, on the other hand, is loud and frantic. The rising and falling guitar line and pounding drums give this tribal vibe to the track. I love the little synth melody which follows the last line of the chorus in this call and response style. It really adds to the intense atmosphere of the track. The album closes out with the title track, a quiet tune about two people falling in love in the midst of the apocalypse. Hozier's voice is buried in vibrato, making him a feel a subtler part of the track than usual. It's a hopeful note to end the record on.

Wasteland, Baby! is a strange album. It is so front-loaded with overproduced, commercial songs; and yet the the back half is consistently good. You can honestly feel the shift at the half way mark. Removing the radio-tailored nothing tracks would have made it a more enjoyable (and less bloated) listen.

Top Tracks: No Plan, As It Was, Shrike, Dinner & Diatribes, Wasteland, Baby!

6/10

Slaves - "The Velvet Ditch" (2019)

While working on the bands last album, last years Acts Of Fear And love, Slaves wanted to keep that record as lean and tight as possible. All killer and no filler as they say. That resulted in the duo having a few ideas and tracks left over after the release, things which wouldn't necessarily have worked on the record or unfinished ideas that didn't have time to blossom, hence this EP. Unfortunately, these odds and ends feel just like that - unfinished.

The opener is the most fully formed of the bunch. It's a track about being trapped in your home town and the rather unpleasant people you inevitably meet there, titled One More Day Won't Hurt. Supposedly inspired by the group's attempt at making a grime beat, the song sounds like typical Slaves. Isaac Holman's angry, shouted vocals sit on top of his thunderous drumming and Laurie Vincent's grimy, heavy guitar riffs. While the track is as loud as any punk song, it crescendos massively towards the end.

The other tracks don't really come close to matching this. The following song is a short thrashing punk jam called It Makes Me Sick, but doesn't really match the humour of the likes of Fuck The Hi-Hat (a similarly loud and short tune). The title track is easily the most forgettable, slowing the pace down with a twangy country-style acoustic guitar, and that's it. The melody is simple and forgettable, the lyrics are simple. There's just not much there to latch on to. The closing track is also slower, being a heartfelt piano balled with some engaging lyrics. However, there's nothing else introduced into the song and it doesn't really go anywhere. It really feels like it could've been expanded upon into a really great song.

It's a shame this EP feels unfinished, because the basis is here for some good songs, especially with the band branching out into new territory with the last two tracks. As it stands, it is fine. While perfectly listenable, it just feels rather unimportant.

Top Tracks: One More Day Wont Hurt

5/10

Kendrick Lamar - "To Pimp A Butterfly" (2015)

I don't have a musical background in hip hop (at all), but over the past couple of years I have been (very) slowly exploring the genre, starting from this album. This was the first truly hip hop album I ever listened to, outside genre crossover acts like Gorillaz and Rage Against The Machine, and I was blown away even at the first listen.

I was captivated by Kendrick's enigmatic and powerful delivery, dynamically switching up his pace and flow, as well as tone and presence. Sometimes hard and purposeful, like on Hood Politics; sometimes bragging and flashy, like on King Kunta; sometimes reflective and thoughtful, for example How Much A Dollar Cost. On u, Kendrick puts on a voice that sounds mid-mental breakdown, and it really adds an intense emotional edge to the song. The instrumentation is equally creative and dynamic. The album is stuffed full with funky and jazzy beats which constantly switch up and change direction, sometimes multiple times in a song. They are consistently entertaining, and never take the backseat to Kendrick's vocals. It is exceptional that these two elements work so well in tandem, it never feels like there's any kind of back and forth considering the complexity of both elements.

Kendrick's lyrics are engrossing, covering multiple topics including: life as a black American, institutionalised racism, growing up in Compton, the exploitation of an artists work in the music industry, and his own personal struggles with religion and his role in society. He switches between these topics effortlessly between songs and even within them. His lyrics are so dense that every time I've listened to this record over the past couple of years I discover something new, it's like a gift that keeps on giving. I don't pretend that I fully understand everything he mentions here, and I don't think I ever will, which draws me in further.

The album goes on such a run from For Free? through to Alright. All of these tracks are fantastic. For Free?, much like u, employs some of Kendrick's more deranged vocals. That combined with the frantic jazzy instrumentation gives the track a uniquely entertaining vibe. King Kunta takes shots at other rappers, and Institutionalized references growing up in Compton and has a great guest verse from Snoop Dog. These Walls and Alright have more fun to them, however still have intelligent lyrics and incredibly catchy choruses. The Story told on How Much A Dollar Cost is personal and spiritual, detailing an event where Kendrick came across a beggar who he initially dismissed as a scam artist, who then is revealed to be Jesus and that this was a test of his faith. This track is set to a moody piano line and some restrained saxophones, adding to this spooky and otherworldly atmosphere. The Blacker The Berry goes for the jugular, with Lamar aggressively rapping about the endless cycle of institutionalised racism and gang violence, and how even he can't get away from it despite being one of the biggest rappers in the world.

The closer, Mortal Man is slow track which winds down the album and its many ideas well, and after the track finishes there is a section where Kendrick has edited an old Tupac interview to make it seem as if they are having a conversation. This could come of a little awkward, however it is edited so well that it is very endearing, especially the end where Kendrick Shouts out "PAC!" as if hes disappeared, obliviously in reference to Tupac's untimely death.

This record is fantastic. It is bursting it's seems with creativity and character, as well as being poignant and thought provoking. It's focus on instrumentation also provides a nice starting point for people getting into the genre. Of the few hip hop releases I have listened to since, none have come close to beating this one, even some of Kendrick's other work. If you ave never been into hip hop, this record may change that.

Top Tracks: For Free? King Kunta, Instiutionalized, These Walls, u, Alright, Hood Politics, How Much A Dollar Cost, The Blacker The Berry, Mortal Man

9/10

Tame Impala - "Currents" (2015)

Currents is a quite the shift from Tame Impalas previous record, Lonerism. It ditches many of the guitars for more of a psychedelic synth-pop style. This new approach makes the record feel much more sonically dense than Lonerism, which I'm not really latching on to as much (I really liked the spacious atmosphere of Lonerism). I find it slightly impenetrable, as if I can't really get absorbed by the record.

The album opens with its best cut, Let It Happen, a track driven by its thumping, dance-able bass riff. The track goes through multiple phases, one of which where the track chops up like old scratched CDs do, only to do it again and then more frequently until the track bursts out of it with the return of the bass line. The Less I Know The Better has a similar bass line, with Kevin Parker singing some pretty catchy falsetto vocals. I also get a bit of a disco vibe from this track with the strings which float around in the mix in the back half of the song.

Disciples sounds far more similar to Lonerism than anything off this record, being a more guitar driven track. It's such a shame that it is so short, as it has the spaciousness the rest of the album lacks. I feel like Nangs is the best exploration of the synth style, which is also far shorter than it could be. The track is rich in atmosphere, having this wobbling, warbling noises. I also feel it benefits from having no vocals. The vocals across the album are in this heavily processed falsetto style, which works on some tracks, including the aforementioned Let It Happen and The Less I Know The Better, as well as Reality In Motion. However they feel far less dynamic than on Lonerism, just sitting on top of the mix where they used to dart around all over the place. 

A friend also brought to my attention that the lyrics feel just a little whiny. While Tame Impala has always had somewhat sad undertones, there are points on this record which verge into self-pity. The worst offender for this is Past Life, a track which has these really cringy pitch-shifted spoken word vocals about a previous partner. The track also has this incredibly bad sounding distortion effect placed on the entire mix at points which really doesn't mix well with the rest of the tune.

Current's is an incredibly made and produced album, but almost too so. Outside of some really great tracks (I mean Let It Happen is phenomenal), it's just too dense for me to really find myself being absorbed by the music. It is still enjoyable to have on in the background and has creative moments in most of the tracks which I appreciate. I can imagine someone else with slightly different tastes digging it a lot more than I did.

Top Tracks: Let It Happen, Nangs, The Moment, The Less I Know The Better, Disciples, Reality In Motion

6/10

Thom Yorke - "ANIMA" (2019)

Despite being a big Radiohead fan, I've never gotten around to checking out any of Thom Yorke's solo material until now. This record dropped a couple of weeks ago alongside an arty Netflix short film featuring 3 of the songs and some more of Thom's meme worthy dancing. ANIMA explores Yorke's more electronic leaning tendencies that are apparent in Radiohead's more experimental albums. ANIMA, however, feels a whole lot more consistent than the likes of Amnesiac or The King Of Limbs. Perhaps it is because Thom is only focused on electronic sounds and textures, making the album feel less like a balancing act, and more of a full exploration of the genre.

Another distinction I feel between this and a lot of Radiohead's electronic work is the emphasis on more ambience and texture, as opposed to the hypnotic rhythms they tend to build their tracks around. Loops and rhythm are still an integral part to the album, but it feels as if they're not the focus this time. For example, the opener, Traffic, is built up from layers of looping synthetic beats, but swells of synthesisers rise and fall and different elements are introduced throughout the track. Thom's vocals are soaked in reverb, creating a strange yet human atmosphere as they contrast to the music they're paired with. Twist starts off with a looped sample of Thom just saying "twist" which slowly fades out of the mix as ethereal vocals glide over the top. A sample of kids cheering is also introduced which gives the track a slight sense of fun. However the track feels like it should've ended after its first phase, as it really feels dragged out over its 7 minute runtime. Not The News has tense beebs and boops driving the track forward with some momentum as Thom's voice sounds paranoid and confused, which echo effects applied at just the right moment to add to the tension. Strings come in slowly as the song moves forward, turning it from something tense and synthetic, to something lush and rich. This paranoia carries on through the seamless transition into The Axe, where Yorke wails 'I Thought We Had A Deal' over these chiming guitar notes buried in effects lower in the mix.

Dawn Chorus is built from some incredibly sad, slightly dissonant chords and not much else. Yorke's deadpan, emotionless depiction of modern day to day actions with lines such as "You've quit your job again" and "I don't like leaving, doors shut". This completely devastated track evokes similar feelings to the likes of Motion Picture Soundtrack and True Love Waits, as if there is nothing left for him in this life. I Am a Very Rude Person fits in rather well afterwards, with it's spacious beats and cool bass guitar refreshing the album after the defeated atmosphere of the last track. Impossible Knots is also built around a chunky looped bass riff and some sped up drum patterns, courtesy of Radiohead's drummer Philip Selway. Honestly at this point it doesn't sound to far of the basis of a typical Foals track. Synths layer on top of this, along with more of Thom's ethereal vocals.

Last I Heard (... He Was Circling The Drain) is my least favourite of the bunch, reminding me of Radiohead's more underwhelming electronic tracks, such The Gloaming. The siri-esque computerised vocals on the closer, Runwayaway, also don't really appeal to me; and the track as a whole doesn't feel like it progresses to anywhere particularly interesting.

This album has certainly become one of my favourite releases this year, with these engaging ambient tracks which have so much detail and texture to them. The beats and grooves drive the tracks without them feeling as if the rhythm is the sole focus of them. It's a really great album and a good way to follow on from the likes of Kid A and Amnesiac through to full-on electronica.

Top Tracks: Traffic, Dawn Chorus, I Am A Very Rude Person, Not The News, The Axe, Impossible Knots

8/10