American Football - American Football

Lets paint a little picture shall we.  Your in high school, it's Friday, you're walking home with you're friends or the love of your life, it's starting to get a little chilly and the leaves are beginning to turn.  All of this, all of this and more was summed up musically expertly 17 years ago.  On American Football's self titled 1999 masterpiece, they took the blooming genre of Emo, put in some harmonies and some horns, and made one of the most truly heartbreaking, yet warm and fuzzy Emo albums you're ever going to hear.  As far as what happened next for American Football goes, not really much happened.  They broke up shortly after and didn't reunite until last year or so for some festivals.  Now I wasn't exactly listening to American Football in 1999, but as soon as I hit High School so many people close to me recommended I listen to it, and the rest is history. I've always been insanely picky when it comes to Emo bands, but I have a soft spot for the early days of Weezer, Sunny Day Real Estate, and of course American Football.  So here we are, 17 years after the release of their debut album with new American Football material.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSgOVfvauhY
(Still a staple for me to listen to every October or so)

  This album starts off with “Where Are We Now?”, and appropriate title after coming off of a 17 year hiatus.  And for the most part this is exactly where you think they would pick up, with some light guitar pickings and nothing necessarily heavy.  The airy atmosphere is pretty nice until the vocals come in.  The first thing I said to myself listening to “Where Are We Not?” was “Is that seriously Mike Kinsella?”.  Obviously, you know the dude is going to sound older after 17 years, but this is like mind boggling.  Hell he didn’t sound this old a few months ago when he released his latest solo album on his other project Owen.  And the sad part is, he brings the rest of the band down.  Kinsella’s vocals here make American Football sound like a different kind of band entirely, not even a different band, a totally different genre of band.  Yes, that’s right American Football fans, “Where Are We Now?” sounds less like a classic Emo track and sounds like…..Adult Contemporary Soft Rock *shudders*.  Yea I know that one was hard to swallow, you may want to take a minute before reading on, the worst is over I promise.  Lyrically, ironically enough American Football really haven’t changed that much, and as far as lyrics go it’s a really solid performance.  But there’s no soul to be found on “Where Are We Now?”, there’s no warmth, all of the things that made such a wonderful sound for the band in 1999 is gone here.  A few tracks later “Home Is Where the Haunt Is” has a lot of the same issues.  It starts off with that same warm feeling you would expect, but Kinsella’s vocals while they are heartfelt I just can’t get into.  Honestly, he can obviously still sing and sound wonderful doing it, but to be honest I just can’t get on board with it.  I will say this though, there are tracks on here where it works wonderfully, we’ll get to that though.  On “Home Is Where The Haunt Is” though, everything just comes off so cold, so uninviting.  Sure, most of the melodies come off really well, but lyrically this is filled with every last cliche in the Big Book O’ Emo.  I’d even say half of these cliche’s American Football invented back in 99.  My main problem isn’t song quality here, a lot of these tracks when you break it down aren’t that bad.  But they’re just so unbelievably bland and run of the mill.  “I've Been So Lost for So Long”, starts off with more of the same, honestly a whole lot of these instrumentals blend together a little too much.  I will give Kinsella this, as the album goes on, he does sound more truly heartbroken and emotionally lost.  “I've Been So Lost for So Long” ends up building quickly, and lyrically has some of the most interesting lines here.  Not to mention, as these tracks roll on they actually get really complex instrumentally, all hope isn’t lost for one of Emo’s most treasured acts.  Hell there’s even a little math rock thrown in there for old times sake.  Ironically enough, the group vocals, something I’ve always thought American Football pulled off so well, is the main downfall of “I've Been So Lost for So Long”.  Here, the group vocals just don’t come off nearly as effective.  I feel like for American Football on this album for everything one thing they do right, they flop in another aspect.  I do however love those gorgeous, old school sounding piano’s floating through the background here, I could have used more of that.

As we move on through American Football’s comeback album, there are actually some truly sincere moments that give me hope for the future of the band.  “My Instincts Are the Enemy” early on in the album instantly shows signs of improvement.  As far as the instrumental goes, it’s easy on the ears but still shows off that technicality lying underneath everything, it’s exactly what I want to hear from them.  Here, American Football is clearly playing from their heart, something that I’ve commended them on in the past.  Here, Mike Kinsella’s vocals are much more on point, the group vocals come off wonderfully done as well.  Lyrically, Kinsella proves to be an above average songwriter, but he honestly always has been (if you haven’t listened to Kinsella’s side project Owen, you really should).  He doesn’t always make the boldest statements, but he makes up for that with down to earth sincerity and heartfelt performances.  “My Instincts Are the Enemy” still doesn’t hold a candle to the material they were producing way back when, but this is still a really great sound for them.  Lyrically though, it’s fascinating.  They really haven’t grown up in a way, and still talk about a lot of the same topics, but it certainly doesn’t come off as awkward.  It just kinda sounds like you’re catching up with an old friend that you haven’t seen in years.  “Born To Lose” is one of the most solid performances on the entire album, quickly grabbing my attention and not letting go.  Right from the opening instrumentals you can tell the band is so much more into this than some of the other performances here.  The group vocals on “Born To Lose” are absolutely chilling, as they don’t even come off as group vocals, just one solid, soft entity.  The bass that keeps lumbering along, the twinkling guitar riff, everything about this is absolutely gorgeous.  Lyrically, “Born To Lose” is absolutely on the simpler side, but American Football make it work.  Not to mention, some of the visuals as the lyrics roll on are absolutely stunning.  The atmosphere here is exactly the warm, cozy atmosphere I’ve been dying to hear.  Overall, “Born To Lose” is one of the most consistent tracks here, why the hell can’t other tracks be like this?  Kinsella’s vocals towards the end become almost tearjerking, and so painfully real, it’s stunning.  It’s just so frustrating though, especially hearing really underwhelming tracks like “Give Me The Gun” later.  Instrumentally this track starts off pretty cool, with almost a little jam thrown in there, and it just keeps getting better as the track rolls on.  On the other hand, lyrically and vocally this may be the least interesting track here  As far as the lyrics go, I feel like American Football themselves have written these tracks before, it’s just so generic.  And it’s a real freakin’ shame, because instrumentally this is a damn treat.  The guitar licks are slick, the drumming is actually really impressive, and the atmosphere they create is just fantastic.  If the vocals and lyrics would have been on point, “Give Me The Gun” would have been near perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXdYp4nss0U


Thankfully, American Football end up ending this album off pretty solidly.  On "I Need a Drink (or Two or Three)", I'll be honest just hearing that trumpet right off the bat gives mes the absolute chills.  All of a sudden, I feel 17 again and just hearing American Football for the first time.  The atmosphere on "I Need a Drink (or Two or Three)" is absolutely spot on, that warm sound that once came from American Football is back and I honestly can't stop smiling.  Kinsella sounds solid here and delivers another truly heartfelt performance, really bringing in that sense of longing.  Plus the background vocals here really give this track some really nice dimension to it.  Everything about the sound of "I Need a Drink (or Two or Three)" is what American Football should be going for at this point in their lives.  I mean who the hell knows if we're ever going to get another album from American Football, or even how long that would take at this point.  But if they do, this would be the sound I want to hear.  Up next is "Desire Gets in the Way", which instantly has one of the spunkiest sounding instrumentals here.  No, it's not "heavy", but it certainly has a little bite to it.  As far as vocals go, Kinsella sound's fired up to say the least, and as far as the instrumentals go, they're the sharpest they've been yet.  Hell, I would even go as far as to say that if Kinsella sounded younger this would have fit nicely on the first American Football album (I didn't think I was going to be saying that anytime soon).  "Desire Gets in the Way" gets a little weird when the lyrics get a bit Kinky in the later bars, but this still works really well.  Then we have the album's finale "Everyone Is Dressed Up".  Instrumentally once again I can't really complain about this, American Football sound about where they should be.  It's not too airy, and it's not heavy at all, but it's just so them.  Kinsella doesn't really sound too impressive on this one, he actually sounds a little timid.  Not even timid in the old school Emo sort of way either, but just in a zero confidence in his performance kinda way, which isn't good at all.  But everything else really makes up for that.  That smooth trumpet that pops in once again gives me massive flashbacks, and as far as the atmosphere goes everything is solid.  The vocals could be better like I said, but overall this finale gets a check in my book.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOvMsmHRGig

Rating: 7.6/10

Give A Listen To: “Born To Lose”, “I Need a Drink (or Two or Three)”, “Desire Gets In The Way”, “My Instincts Are The Enemy”

Overall Thoughts: I mean after 17 years, I really didn't know what to expect from this album.  Mike Kinsella's voice is going to be a turn off for older fans, because there are more than a few moments here where it just changes the band's sound so much.  There are a lot of cringey lines and some moments where the band just sounds emotionless.  But as a whole, this is pretty solid, there are a lot of tracks on here that are going to bring back a lot of great memories.  It's nowhere near as inviting as their last album so long ago, but for this point in their lives this could have been a whole lot worse. 

Spirit Club - "Slouch"

Now for those who don't know, Spirit Club is the side project of Wavves' Nathan Williams.  Now, I've been a fan of Nathan's work for years, I even enjoyed "Afraid of Heights" when most hardcore Wavves fans bashed the band's grungier sound.  But I have to be honest, Wavves' output since has been more hit and miss for me, mostly miss.  First, there was the insanely boring "V" album, and "No Life For Me" with Cloud Nothings was solid, but it should have been much more in depth.  That all being said, Wavves need a little reboot, and a side project from Nathan could really do some great things.  So lets talk about Spirit Club's new album, "Slouch".  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL-rMkhOLSk

The album starts off with “Fast Ice Intro”, which sounds bizarrely close to the intro of Wavves’ “Afraid of Heights” album.  Theres really not too much to report here, except for an excess of Beach Boy worship.  For the most part the harmonies are on point so it’s really hard to be pissed at this short, mostly instrumental intro, I just wish this went a little further.  Then, Spirit Club burst into the peppy “Fast Ice”.  For the most part, Spirit Club have taken everything semi-pop sounding about Wavves and using that to create a new sound.  Like Wavves, there is plenty of scratchy guitar, but the production on tracks like these are much more inviting.  But that’s about where the similarities end, you can’t really compare this to Wavves at all, this is a totally different entity.  On “Fast Ice”, the harmonies continue to be on point, and Nathan Williams can still write catchy hooks.  However, it’s really the little things here and there that make “Fast Ice” so enjoyable,  like the dual keyboards and the constantly plinking keyboards in the background.  Lyrically, there really isn’t anything that memorable, but everything else is sweet and pleasant on the ears, it’s a solid single.  Up next, we have “Your Eyes Tell Lies”.  Right off the bat you realize that a whole lot of these tracks have a super airy feel to them, but this one almost has a new wave feel as well.  “Your Eyes Tell Lies” is much sower of a track, and it has a whole lot less tricks to fall back on, this track is all about Nathan Williams.  Now, while I enjoy “Your Eyes Tell Lies”, this is the real start of tracks that are seriously going to alienate Wavves fans, most notably on the chorus.  Wavves since their beginning of their career have always tipped their hat into the Surf Rock field, but it’s always been only slightly.  “Your Eyes Tell Lies” on the other hand is blatant Beach Boys worship, which they pull off nicely and all, but it’s so far from the distorted scratchy garage rock that got them famous.  I kinda dig this track though, as goofy as it gets occasionally, but there are going to be plenty of Nathan Williams fans who will instantly thick this new sound is garbage.  Once we get back to the verse and Williams gets back into his comfort zone his fans may get more invested.  As far as the verses go, Williams sounds just as hip as ever.  Call me crazy though, I really enjoy “Your Eyes Tell Lies”, it’s just so cheery and I can’t say no to that.  Sadly though, so many of these tracks don’t work nearly as much.  Take for example “Room To Run”.  This track starts off with some chilly synths which I can handle, but when it comes to these lyrics, oh boy.  The lyrics certainly here have taken a huge turn for the cheesy on “Room To Run”.  But to be honest, for what it’s worth it still kinda sorta works a little since they’re going for a more pop driven sound, there’s almost an innocence to this track that you don’t hear anymore.  Not only have they brought out all of the surf references ever on this album, but oh boy they’ve started tipping their hat into Doo Wop too.  “Room To Run” is a mess, the verses here are boring as sin which thankfully is picked up a little by a solid chorus.  The chorus at the very least has a slick groove to it that Spirit Club really pull off.  If the rest of this track followed that same groove, this would have been so much better.  While some of the verses have potential, Spirit Club just wear their influences on their shoulder way too much.  They have a really catchy sound, and they can pull it off so well, they just need to write more original sounding material for the most part.  And it’s such a shame, because the last few bars or so of “Room To Run” are absolutely killer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z56iA0lFQsk

A few tracks later we have “That’s My Curse”, and seriously I don’t think it’s ever gotten more cliche then to be going for a more surf rock sound and incorporating ocean sound effects.  This is by far the dreamiest thing I’ve heard on the entire album.  There are some pleasant sounding keys occasionally, and the ocean sounds do go nicely with everything.  However, these are some of the lease enjoyable vocals I’ve heard yet.  Spirit Club as this album goes on sound more and more like they’re trying to write their own “Pet Sounds”, and at this point it’s just getting aggravating.  Yes, they have the basic formula down, but it’s so blatant and obvious that all the magic is sucked right out of tracks like this.  Instrumentally “That’s My Curse” has a lot o warm moments, but everything else is just a not interesting at all.  On “Lately I Haven’t Been Sleeping”, I honestly have high hopes from the intro.  Here, it sounds like Spirit Club are back to a poppier, more upbeat sound which suits them wonderfully.  But as soon as the verse hits we’re treated to some of the blandest vocals we’ve gotten so far.  These tracks aren’t necessarily completely unlistenable, all the elements Spirit Club are aiming for are indeed present, they’re just missing their target. One thing I have to say is that the boys are going for way too much of a pop sound. What made earlier tracks on the album interesting was the blend of pop harmonies with their more scratchy guitars and such, something I can’t say I’ve heard since the intro of the album.  Yes, the music of Spirit Club sounds inventive and interesting from far, but upon further investigation man oh man is it empty.  On “Needful Things” Spirit Club continue to make me cringe at every point possible by going for a straight Doo-Wop sound.  While clearly they CAN pull this off under the right circumstances, “Needful Things” just comes off as awkward as hell.  They seriously need to write come more original material now that they know that clearly they have the basics down.  They proved earlier with tracks like “Fast Ice” that there is no reason that they can’t make these tracks heavier while still going for this Surf Pop sound, so why they’ve drifted away so quickly is bizarre to me.  The harmonies work and all, but everything else about “Needful Things” is just obnoxious.  Then we have the puzzling, acoustic (Oh Boy) “I’m In Heaven”.  Once again there are a lot of really nice elements here, but everything else just comes off as awkward.  An acoustic track out of a Nathan Williams project would have worried me enough, but now Spirit Club are trying to bring in all the elements they’ve been toying with the entire album as well, it’s absolutely head scratching.  And while the psychedelic tinged atmosphere is a nice addition, these lyrics are beyond laughable.  Once again there are so many good elements on tracks like “I’m In Heaven”, they just need to hunker down on some more original sounding material.  

So many of these tracks here more or less sound like incomplete thoughts to be perfectly honest, take for example "Metal Dream", which gets my hopes up with these nice fuzzy guitars for an intro.  This track though only sticks around for about 2 minutes.  It's a nice break from everything else going on here, but it just doesn't go far enough with it.  However, some of "Slouch"'s later moments are actually some of the better ones.  "Broken Link" actually have some bite to it.  Right off the bat, "Broken Link" is ushered in with a solid riff for the boys to fall back on.  As far as the Wavves formula, this is the closest thing you're going to hear.  Nathan and the others here sound so much more in their comfort zone and sound so less awkward.  The synths are heavy, the harmonies are on point, and this is easily one of Nathan's wildest performances in ages.  Honestly my only slight problem with this is that I wish there were a few more harmonies, because at the end of the day this just sounds like a Wavves B-Side, a darn good one though.  Then we have "Nearly As Much As You".  To be honest, I was worried about this one as soon as I heard the opening vocals.  However, it picks up quickly and ends up becoming one of the better tracks here. "Nearly As Much As You" as far as vocals have some of the most bizarre performances here, almost drifting into Ariel Pink territory, but they work wonderfully for Spirit Club.  Speaking of being worried by the intro of a track, I almost gave up the instant I heard the intro of "You're So Mean".  This one is an acoustic one, and at this point in the album that was the last thing I wanted to hear.  While it starts out really underwhelming, once everything picks up it becomes one of the standout moments here by far.  Nathan's performance is genuinely heartfelt, and everything else comes off as respectable.  This album is seriously a mess, but I'm still really interested in where it goes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeZAP2TCGF8

Rating: 6.7/10

Give A Listen To:  “Fast Ice”, “Broken Link”, “You’re So Mean”, “Your Eyes Tell Lies”

Overall Thoughts:  Man, this album is messy.  Spirit Club have the basics down for this sound they're going for, and to a casual listener sure this is gonna sound just fine.  But underneath all the sweet harmonies and hero worship, there's really a lot of messy stuff happening.  The guitar's could have been punchier, the lyrics in places could have been a whole less corny, and overall the material Spirit Club bring to the table could be so much more interesting and original.  However, I will give them this.  Wavves and Nathan Williams needed a rejuvenation of sorts, and while this isn't perfect, I'm absolutely interested to see where this goes.  

Lady Gaga - "Joanne"

Well for starters, I've always been a big fan of Lady Gaga.  For those of you that are still reading, good evening!  If you don't know who Lady Gaga is and you're alive during this century, you sir/ma'am have to get out more.  On her first album, "The Fame" (as well as "The Fame Monster" expansion EP thingy, I dunno even what the hell it is to be honest), Gaga was making electronic/dance bangers that were too catchy too ignore, with her own bizarre characteristics of course.  This artsy, left field approach to Pop set her aside from other current Pop Stars.  Over the years, she's gotten bigger and bigger, expanding her sound to the much louder and ballad driven "Born This Way", as well as the artsy, kinky "ARTPOP", both which I enjoyed as well.  And what do you know, here we have Gaga's first new material in a few years, "Joanne".  Now to be honest, I really wasn't expecting much going into this.  "Perfect Illusion" was alright to me, but I was expecting a little more, it just didn't seem like a lead single to me.  Plus I heard Gaga was going for a more stripped back, straightforward sound, which worried me a bit.  So let's talk about "Joanne", shall we.  

“Joanne” starts off with “Diamond Heart”.  Now call me crazy but I’m trying to think of a Gaga album that didn’t start off with a bang.  The intro to “Diamond Heart” really doesn’t give away much at all. Gaga’s vocals over the years have become consistently more soulful, even a little bluesy at times.  This goes doubly for the songs here, and they just get more bluesy sounding as the album goes on.  The verses on “Diamond Heart” though seem on the tame side, and really don’t do much for me at all.  As far as the lyrics go, these are some of the most down to earth sounding lyrics I’ve ever heard from Gaga.  However, they come off as almost preachy from time to time, and clearly the exact opposite of the fun pop songs she used to turn out constantly.  However, Gaga really turns this track around for the chorus.  The chorus on “Diamond Heart” has some of the most passionate vocals I’ve heard from Gaga in a while, totally saving the rest of the track.  Josh Tillman (A.K.A. Father John Misty) plays drums on this one, and while his performance doesn’t bring in anything life changing here, I actually feel like Gaga stylistically has taken a lot from Misty for this track.  “Diamond Heart” isn’t perfect, and it’s certainly not as catchy as you would hope from Gaga.  But she makes up for it with a strong, solid performance, I still just wish the verses were more interesting.  The quality of the album however takes a hard nosedive really fast though with “A-Yo”.  Clearly this is more along the lines of a pop tune that you would expect from Gaga, and Mark Ronson’s glossy production is most apparent here, but everything else about this track is cheesy as hell.  While I think Gaga is one hell of a singer, this track just has such a swagger to it that’s so cocky that I can’t take it the slightest bit seriously.  Not to mention the lyrics here really aren’t any better at all, filled with every pop cliche in the book.  Hell, I would even go as far as to say that the first time I heard this track it almost sent me packing to the point where I didn’t want to finish the album.  That all being said though, I still think Gaga gives us one hell of a vocal performance.  She’s always been comfortable with her voice and hitting all the high notes she can, but these tracks are showing her let loose more than ever.  Also, the instrumental here is pretty ok as well, with Queens of the Stone Age legend Josh Homme playing guitar (as well as on a handful of other tracks).  Overall though, “A-Yo” is just too obnoxious is too many ways for me to really enjoy.  Up next is the title track, “Joanne”, which starts off with an acoustic intro.  Not that I have anything against acoustic tracks, but certain artists upon hearing that acoustic intro I get instantly worried for them.  Once again though I find the lyrics doing a whole lot of nothing for me.  Gaga is trying to be super deep and personal, and that’s totally fine.  I actually think that that’s really what she needs at this point in her career.  But some of these tracks seriously miss that mark completely.  Tracks like “Joanne” don’t come off sincere at all, they come off pretty full of themselves to say the least.  And it’s a shame, because as far as her performance goes, it’s explosive and as far as vocals go incredibly heartfelt.  But then I get the feeling like she’s going for almost a Bob Dylan or an old school folk sound.   Not that theres anything wrong with that, but my God does this ever fall short of THAT.  “Joanne” just ends up being Ok at best.  But Gaga isn’t completely out of ideas, the next track “John Wayne” is executed near perfectly.  The intro here is a little bizarre and totally off the wall, but it works so well.  There’s a strong funk to this one, which is totally something I’m welcoming after all of these safe sounding tracks.  Lyrically, this is one big ode to Gaga wanting a cowboy in her life, but all of these elements work together pretty well for her.  It’s not as preachy at all, and most importantly it’s just catchy and fun.  The small yet explosive buildup to the chorus works fantastically, and while “John Wayne” at points has a southern flair to it, it really doesn’t come off cheesy at all.  It ACTUALLY comes off pretty wild, especially for this album.  “John Wayne” is one of the album’s shortest tracks, but it’s straightforward, catchy, and it breaks up the album nicely.  

As messy and all over the place “Joanne” is, there are also a handful of really solid tunes.  Let’s chat about the big single from this album, “Perfect Illusion”.  The opening instrumentals to this one give it a massive, epic sound, and when the beat picks up Gaga sounds right at home.  Yes, “Perfect Illusion” is massively cheesy and completely over the top.  But it works wonderfully here, and everything works in her favor. Gaga throughout sounds completely confident in herself. and while this track has a great beat and all, it still sticks for the most part with her more personal sound she's going for.  There’s even an occasional retro feel here mostly due to the twinkling synths floating through the background.  Yes there are some cliches here and there, but get over yourself, Gaga works on this tune.  “Million Reasons” up next on the other hand really steals the show.  From the opening few bars clearly we’re working with a ballad.  But unlike earlier attempts at a track like this, Gaga absolutely nails this one.  This is honestly the sound that I thought she was going to go for more with the album entirely.  Vocally this is stunning, not a single note here is anything less than perfect.  When it comes to lyrics, this may be one of Gaga’s finest moments in general.  Her lyrical performance here is insanely heartfelt and absolutely gorgeous.  No this probably isn’t going to climb any pop charts, but Gaga gained a lot of respect from me for this one.  “Million Reasons” is just an incredible performance, especially when those gigantic drums start piling up on top of everything.  A few tracks later Gaga gives us “Hey Girl”, which honestly I thought I wasn’t going to be able to stomach, most because of the feature.  “Hey Girl” features Florence Welch, who I think is a good singer and all, but I can’t think of a single Florence And The Machine track I can sit through.  But honestly, Gaga and Florence pull this off perfectly.  Once again those synths are bringing in a sort if retro vibe that both ladies sound right at home on.  Both performances are powerful and emotional, not to mention this is just one of the better tracks I’ve heard about being friends with someone in ages.  But what makes this track so decent is how simple it is.  It’s not overly indulgent, it’s not preachy, it’s not over the top, but it still comes off as mature.  “Hey Girl” overall is just a solid duet.  Now that I have all of that out of my system, this brings me to my point of “Joanne”’s biggest downfall.  There are so many great tracks here, with wonderful down to earth songwriting, as well as some of Gaga’s most passionate performances in year.  But THEN after all of that, I hear garbage like “Dancin’ In Circles”.  This track starts off with a nice groove that actually wakes me up a bit, but then literally it turns into a 4 minute track about masturbation.  There’s innuendo’s and all but c’mon, unless I'm missing something this is seriously 4 minutes of masturbation talk.  I would have expected this on her last album “ARTPOP”, which practically every song was about sex.  But then I hear this, on an album that’s supposed to be so different in every way, and it’s like a slap in the face.  Everything in Gaga’s performance just ends up coming off as awkward.  The instrumental is ok, the verses are catchy and all, but everything else is grossly out of place.  

I feel like this is just such an inconsistent album to really love from start to finish.  “Sinners Prayer” once again shows Gaga going down a more country path.  But here, she takes a little too much from that style.  She’s going for this old school, story telling kind of jam, and lyrically she pulls it off massively.  But honestly, I just can’t take this seriously coming from her, the piano’s come off goofy occasionally, and some of the references that Gaga tries to bring in to “update” this sound are just awkward as anything.  “Come To Mama” I have a lot of the same problems with.  Gaga on this one goes for a more bluesy track once again, almost drifting into the sound that she tried out with Tony Bennett on their collaboration album.  The problem is, THAT came off as classy, “Come To Mama” just comes off as awkward.  Lyrically, it’s not terrible at all, as a matter of fact I like the more relevant style of lyrics here (even though they do get a bit preachy at parts).  But musically, I just don’t think it works all together.  At the very least though, Gaga pulls out one hell of a finale.  “Angel Down” right off the bat has one of the most somber sounding intro’s of the entire album.  It’s a dark track to say the least, with telling lyrics and some of Gaga’s most emotional vocals on the entire album.  I’m not even going to go far into it, because honestly I can’t even begin to do it justice, it’s one of the most hypnotic, haunting tracks I’ve ever heard Gaga on, check it yourselves.  

Rating: 7.0/10

Give A Listen To:  “Million Reasons”, “Hey Girl”, “Perfect Illusion”, “Angel Down”. 

Overall Thoughts:  You know this one is really hard.  I have to commend her for going for a more straightforward sound.  But seriously, it's so inconsistent.  There are some truly emotional, heartfelt tracks here that blow my mind, but some get way too full of themselves too quickly.  Then there's other moments on here that try to be more fun but just come off as ridiculous and grossly out of place.  This can be the start of a lot of great things though, especially if she sticks down this path and gets more consistent.  

(And yes I know there were no Youtube clips on this one, I just couldn't really find any good ones on there, sorry!)

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Dissociation"

Ohhhh Dillinger Escape Plan.  Over the years, this Mathcore and Experimental Metal band has gained quite the reputation, mostly from their outrageous live shows as well as their often twisted, fearless albums.  Now, I'm going to make a few enemies here, but I really don't care for the first two Dillinger albums.  I like tracks on both "Calculating Infinity" and "Miss Machine", don't get me wrong.  But it's not until they came out with "Ire Works" that I really truly understood what Dillinger Escape Plan is all about.  It was on "Ire Works", as well as "Option Paralysis" and "One Of Us Is The Killer", that Dillinger Escape Plan cemented themselves as one of the most chaotic bands in metal, but also artistically fearless.  Now if you haven't been living under a rock, you'll know that Dillinger Escape Plan have announced their breakup at the end of their current tour, meaning this album will in fact be their last.  So does it live up to all the hype surrounding it?  Let's talk about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMEYLlDThZU
(here's a classic to help you guys warm up)

The album starts off with “Limerant Death”.  To be honest, I heard this track early and was pretty shocked by it being on the slower side.  Not that thats a bad thing, it’s just weird.  I mean if you look back at just about every other Dillinger Escape Plan release, they’re starting it off with a chaotic, rapid fire blast of power.  “Limerant Death” almost has a groove metal feel from it’s intro.  However, it has just as much power and energy as you would expect.  Greg Puciato’s vocals here are just as unhinged as you would imagine on a Dillinger Escape Plan track, and eventually everything does speed up.  The backing vocals that pop in occasionally as they have in the past are an element that I’ve always loved.  Their semi goofy, but honestly they seriously add to the unpredictability of Dillinger’s music.  You seriously never know what to expect from these guys, but that’s what makes their album’s and their live shows (If you haven’t seen them live, you’re doing yourself a disservice) so damn fun.  “Limerant Death” is the explosive intro that I wanted to hear from Dillinger Escape Plan.  The guitars here are constantly climbing to reach this climax that honestly they don’t even plan on reaching, while the breakdowns here are absolutely a spectacle, releasing all the energy they’ve built up on these verses (and that’s a lot of energy).  While Dillinger escape plan ARE breaking up after the conclusion of this tour, they seriously haven’t wound down at all, they sound just as heavy as they did on some of their classic albums.  As the track goes on, it just gets heavier and heavier.  Not to mention, Puciato at the end of the track sounds more animalistic than ever, and that’s saying something.  Here he literally sounds completely broken in this bizarre performance.   To top it all off, everything towards the end keeps speeding up until it just explodes into nothingness, what a spectacle.  Up next is “Symptom Of Terminal Illness”.  Right from the intro on this one you’re tossed into this massive unpredictable chaos that makes Dillinger Escape Plan’s music so damn fun.  The ambient passage that starts us off is both unsettling and utterly serene.  That is until those powerful drums and creeping guitar lines come in building “Symptom Of Terminal Illness” quickly and expertly.  Puciato’s deeper vocals on this one are a little far south of what I usually expect.  Even in the band’s most artsy, experimental moments, his vocals remain usually in the upper octaves.  Hearing him hit these low notes makes me seriously want to hear him on a black metal project to be honest.  Here, Dillinger Escape Plan show how they can hit all sorts of different dynamics while not giving up any energy.  This track actually super reminds me of the title track from “One Of Us Is The Killer”, and thats not a bad thing at all.  Overall, this track for the most part is on the easier side to grasp.  That’s not to say it’s not heavy, it is.  But for a casual fan of Dillinger Escape Plan this is absolutely a track you want to check out.  ““Symptom Of Terminal Illness” has such an incredible atmosphere to it.  When you look at some of their first recordings, and how now the band has so many layers it’s seriously incredible.  The instrumentals as a whole here sound so incredibly paranoid.  There’s constantly these sharp guitar screech’s that can jump out at any moment whatsoever, proving that outside of their live shows Dillinger Escape Plan keep you on your toes.  “Wanting Not So Much As To” starts off much more straightforward, there’s no ambient passage here.  No, this one starts with all the gracefulness of an Elephant riding a motorcycle, as the guitars quickly come splattering in as well as ruthless drums building up to the explosion you certainly know is coming eventually.  “Wanting Not So Much As To” is an absolute monster, and as far as a straightforward metal track it might be the closest thing here.  Everything about this track is absolutely balls to the wall, from the constant chugging of the guitars, to the dynamics between these monstrous verses and these minuscule artsy breakdowns.  Overall all of these elements just add to this massive unpredictability that is Dillinger Escape Plan.  “Wanting Not So Much As To” is about breakdown after breakdown making for a constant, clashing monster of a track.  However, these little side melodies that Dillinger go off on really end up showing off the groups musical chops wonderfully.  You really never know when the band is going to take a detour, and what the hell that detour is going to sound like for that matter.  Greg Puciato’s spoken word verse here is absolutely chilling, and add’s so much to this already thick atmosphere.  Puciato’s verse here almost has feel right out of Slint’s “Spiderland”, as the rest of the band shrink their sound to allow Puciato to pull off this deadpan performance.  It’s a twisted moment to say the least, but man does it ever bring a whole lot of character to the table.  Then we have these ghastly, distant primal screams that almost have a Defones feel to it.  So far Dillinger Escape Plan are killing it.  A few tracks later on “Honeysuckle”, the band sounds at their most pure.  Here, they give you the same chaotic sounds that you’ve heard for years.  But it comes across as more powerful then ever, so even this feels fresh and exciting.  The booming guitars here are absolutely killer, especially when it comes to these bizarre, toe tapping interludes.  These almost goofy interludes go from quirky to straight up unsettling rather quickly one Puciato’s screams infiltrate.  While “Honeysuckle” started off incredibly straightforward, it’s quickly become one of the more experimental moments here.  Not only that, it’s become of the most dangerous, rapidly going back and forth between these almost tropical passages to some of the most intense verses here.  The guitar solo’s here are some of the album’s most jaw dropping, and no matter how bizarre this gets, its unforgiving.  Then in the last few bars Dillinger decide to slow things down and this track becomes an entirely different monster.  It’s not a “By the Books” metal track by any means, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from one of Metal’s most fearless acts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yztG35U5Hrw

“Fugue" starts off freakin’ killer with these distant, hazy electronics that sound almost like something off of Radiohead’s “Amnesiac”.  While the drums on the other hand give “Fugue” some slight industrial flair sounding like something from the early days of Nine Inch Nails.  This one is a slow burner, but Dillinger have pulled plenty of these off in the past.  The electronic feel to “Fugue” sticks around, giving this track even more of an unpredictable sound then usual, if you’re a fan of Dillinger Escape Plan you’ll probably be expecting an explosion into a verse at the end of every keyboard passage.  This is the most I’ve really heard them dive into this sound, and to be honest they really pull it off.  Not once does this more electronic vibe come off as cheesy at all, and the string section floating through the background really give “Fugue” a bizarre vibe.  It’s glitchy in parts for all you Death Grips fans, but underneath all of these tricks you can clearly tell you’re still dealing with Dillinger Escape Plan.  Everything here is just so twisted sounding, I couldn’t be more impressed with the atmosphere they’ve created.  Not to mention, those distant guitar licks sound like something out of an atmospheric black metal project, really great stuff.  Now I really don’t have that many complaints about this album at all, even the weaker tracks here I found plenty to enjoy about.  “Surrogate” starts off just as intense as you would expect, and I’d swear that as the album goes on Puciato’s vocals just get more and more intense and animalistic.  Now, my main problem with “Surrogate” is just how straightforward it is.  I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s just as chaotic and aggressive, but the verses just kinda blow past me without me really flinching at all.  That’s something I’m just not used to at all, Pucciato does save this one with his fantastic performance though.  However the one thing I’ve always loved about Dillinger Escape Plan is how their always moving forward with their sound, “Surrogate” to me though sounds like it’s taking about 5 steps back.  The extended breakdown just seems so cookie-cutter for a mathcore band to me, and all of these little things are a real shame because honestly there are really cool moments on “Surrogate”.  Those later moments where everything slows down are genuinely cool, once again giving me an old school industrial feel.  And what’s even weirder is that when the main riff returns, Dillinger Escape Plan honestly sound rejuvenated.  No, “Surrogate” is far from unlistenable, but it lacks the excitement for me.  “Manufacturing Discontent” later on in the album once again has a fairly straightforward intro.  Once again, while it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just too much of what I expect.  The guitar’s here are solid but I feel like they could have been placed on any other Dillinger release, and the verses here are just out of place.  It’s far from terrible, but “Manufacturing Discontent” seriously comes off as rushed.  Even the later moments on this one where Dillinger try to mix it up a little everything kinda just floats right on by leaving no impression.  The only real element that stands out here is Puciato’s vocals which are filled with the same raw power as you can imagine.  Now enough complaining, let’s go back to talking about how dope this album is.  “Low Feels Blvd” wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, it’s time to wake the hell up.  Following some of the more experimental moments of the album, “Low Feels Blvd” doesn’t waste a single second blasting right into an explosive verse.  Instrumentally, it’s the most unforgiving track here.  The dual vocals occasionally going back and forth add an extra interesting element.  For a few seconds here and there, you feel like “Low Feels Blvd”  is going to derail at any moment, and that Dillinger Escape Plan really have no idea what they’re going to do next, and it works amazingly.  Puciato’s screams are absolutely soul tearing.  And just when you think this is just another Dillinger Escape Plan track, in come these almost jazzy breakdowns that made me think my iTunes had switched over to the new BadBadNotGood album.  Moments like this not only add to the great unpredictability that they’re known for, but it really shows off how great of musicians they are as well.  There’s only one real word to describe the later instrumentals here, and that’s “epic”, I honestly feel like I’m listening to a much bigger band.  Dillinger Escape Plan nail this track, it’s a gigantic sound that I seriously wasn’t expecting but man do they pull it off.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or3Dn2NGwIo

Dillinger Escape Plan so far have been killing it, and for the most part they end the album just as strongly as they started it.  “Apologies Not Included” shows them once again sounding rejuvenated.  Puciato is back to these deeper pitched vocals, and they’re totally welcomed once again.  His vocals here sound totally “in the moment”, and while earlier tracks like “Surrogate” seemed cookie-cutter, “Apologies Not Included” is everything you would expect to hear from Dillinger just much more satisfying.  Puciato sounds like a damn animal, the guitars are unhinged, all around “Apologies Not Included” is solid.  Up next is “Nothing To Forget”, and right from that intro you can tell we’re in for a treat.  The main riff is one of the easiest to follow on the entire album, and these drums are absolutely to die for.  “Nothing To Forget” is a little slower, but it’s just so damn heavy in a brooding sort of way that I can’t help but to absolutely go nuts for it.  These are some of Puciato’s cleaner vocals but to be honest sometimes that works out better for Dillinger, and in this case it really does.  Here, these cleaner vocals actually give “Nothing To Forget” a much more sinister feel.  This track is absolutely insane, with every instrumental adding to the twisted sound Dillinger are going for.  These guitars are absolutely dripping with tension and the breakdowns are just as booming as you would want them to be.  The chorus here is truly a highlight, being melodic just enough to stick with you after the album is over, but I can assure you Dillinger haven’t gone soft on us.  By the time we get to the string breakdown, I seriously stopped and asked myself “Is this even real life anymore?”.  “Nothing To Forget”officially goes from twisted and brutal to near tearjerking and gorgeous, this track is near perfect.  Then we have the title track, “Dissociation” to close the album.  Honestly, it’s not the intro I was expecting one bit, as “Dissociation” starts off truly serene.  As far as true musicians go, Dillinger Escape Plan are seriously on top of their game.  These opening strings end up sticking around a while, and they’re absolutely incredible.  Things get intense really quick though when Dillinger add in a fuzzy bass line and electronic drums.  As far as vocals go, this is absolutely right up Chino Moreno of Deftones alley.  Overall, “Dissociation” may be one of the most emotionally deep tracks Dillinger Escape Plan have ever produced.  So much of this album is at such a high level, and I couldn’t be happier to say it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojhD_K2KcEw

Rating : 8.7/10

Give A Listen To : “Limerant Death”, “Symptom of Terminal Illness”, “Low Feels Blvd”, “Nothing To Forget”

Overall Thoughts: I really wanted Dillinger Escape Plan to completely blow me away here.  And to be honest, that's exactly what they did.  Not once here do they really show any sign of slowing down, and track after track they prove that they're still completely fearless and spontaneous.  One or two tracks might sound a little predictable which does suck, but overall I think this may be Dillinger's most concrete album to date.  It's brutal where it needs to be, while bringing in electronic elements as well as some other tricks here and there to keep us on our toes.  Now we can sit here all day and debate if this really is the end of Dillinger Escape Plan, but if this is he end of them, what a way to end their already fantastic career.   This album is absolutely ridiculous, and it's probably the best metal album I've heard this year.  

Regina Spektor - "Remember Us To Life"

Regina Spektor is a Singer/Songwriter that I've always had a soft spot for.  Her early album's like "11:11" and "Songs" were fiery, with plenty of jazz influences.  In the years that followed, Spektor turned to a more Anti-Folk and Baroque Pop sound and gained quite a huge audience, especially with her pretty gigantic "Begin To Hope" album.  Regina's style over the years since really hasn't changed that much, with Regina continuing to be her quirky self, and writing lovely ballads out of small events that you really wouldn't expect to write a full-fledged song out of.  In the albums that followed "Begin To Hope", there were certainly decent songs here and there.  But overall as albums they weren't nearly as focused, with Regina showing more or more weak moments.  However, it's been a while since we've heard from Regina, so I had super high hopes going into this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wigqKfLWjvM
(A classic from Regina)

The album starts off with “Bleeding Heart”, which to be honest really doesn’t do much for me.  It was one of the earliest tracks I heard from the album. and hearing it the first time lowered my expectations for this overall hugely.  Instrumentally, it’s not at all what I would have expected from Regina, you would have thought by now she's learned that her more synth driven stuff isn’t very well received.  As far as her vocals go, they haven't aged a day, Regina still sounds like herself even though it’s been quite a while since we’ve heard from her.  “Bleeding Heart” is cute and all, but the chorus is just so underwhelming.  I think the main issue I have with this one is just how simple it is.  Regina has made a career out of taking simple songs and song topics and making them memorable.  “Bleeding Heart” isn’t all bland though, the verses are actually really solid, and reminiscent of Regina’s “Begin to Hope” days.  It’s not a bad track, I just expect so much more of a punch.  We haven’t heard from Regina in four years at this point, I expected a little more solid of an intro.  That being said though, the last minute and a half or so really picks up and adds a little extra oomph to “Bleeding Heart”, and even when it slows back down again it’s more interesting than the first few minutes.  It’s not terrible.  But then, Regina picks herself up and goes right into “Older and Taller”, which immediately is exactly what I wanted to hear from her.  The lyrics here are on the quirkier side to say the very least, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from Regina by this point and it’s what usually makes us fall in love with her music.  As  exciting as it is to occasionally hear Regina on a more upbeat track, her biggest strengths always seem to come out in these piano pop anthems.  The strings that pop in occasionally behind Regina are absolutely stunning.  Overall, “Older and Taller” might be the closest thing to a perfect Regina Spektor song.  It’s constantly sweet and charming, and her vocals constantly shifting up and down the octaves is absolutely adorable.  Lyrically, I feel like Regina more times than not is on point, as here she repeats the lyrics “Enjoy your youth, sounds like a threat”. Not only is it the best Regina Spektor song I’ve heard in years, it’s one of the better pop songs I’ve heard this year.  Then, as far as tone goes, Regina takes a huge nose dive with “Grand Hotel”.  As soon as the track stars she begins depicting this scene of a Grand Hotel with a portal to hell underneath, damn Regina.  But she takes that one small thought, and turns it into this incredible portrait of this scenario, something she's always been so amazing at.  Lyrically, this is absolutely bizarre and 100% not what I was expecting, but it’s awesome.  It’s obviously a little dark in parts, but it’s also beautiful and totally Regina, even when she breaks intro phrases about the Devil and all.  The verses here are constantly winding up, building up the sweet release of this huge chorus, the way verses and chorus’s should work.  Not to mention, some of these vocals from Regina are absolutely stunning, I couldn't have asked for more from “Grand Hotel”.  Then, if that wasn’t a sharp left turn, up next is “Small Bill$”, which starts off with a heavy heavy funk.  I’m definitely down for the groove on this one, but I’ve seen Regina try this before and have it come off flat.  Regina here is almost doing sort of a rap, which COULD have been just as cringey as it sounds.  However, “Small Bill$” holds up excellently.  If you’ve heard Regina’s early, fiery jazz performances, this seriously isn’t that far away.  To me, this comes off as almost Lana Del Rey’s more hip hop tracks, you know, if anyone could take her seriously besides me (Don’t judge, I am a fan).  Regina’s lyrics continue to hold up wonderfully, with this one having much more of a bite to it.  “Small Bill$” ends up breaking the album up very nicely.  It’s just about the last thing I expected from Regina, but it worked wonderfully.  The groove even ends up holding up for most of the track.  A huge gamble indeed Regina, but it seriously paid off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jZfdTB6hug

“Black And White” continues to be just as smooth as you would expect by this point.  Regina’s vocals on this one have such an incredible sense of longing to them, it’s almost hurting me just to listen.  And when the synths slowly come in usher in the chorus here, it’s a really magical moment.  Once again this is seemingly simple track, but Regina’s wonderful lyrics turn this into a stunning work.  Not to mention there’s a gigantic sense of innocence on ‘Black And White” that you just don’t hear really in pop music anymore, it’s quite charming.  So far, this has easily been Spektor’s most focused album in years.   Her lyrics are solid, her vocals are sweeter than ever, I really don’t have many complaints at all.  The strings here that come in eventually are absolutely heavenly, and usher in this second phase of the album.  This whole second half of “Remember Us To Life” has a gigantic theatrical feel.  Between Regina’s powerful, heartfelt performances and these lush instrumentals, everything has an unbelievably huge feel to it.  Up next is “The Light”.  The rest of the album including this track here are more or less the kind of tracks you would expect from Regina.  No more funk detours, no more synth pop, but that’s ok Regina’s strength has always been piano pop.  “The Light” has a strong dreamlike feel to it, especially in all of the imagery that Regina is giving us.   Some of Regina’s lines are just so clever, as she goes “ know the morning is wiser than the evening, I know that wrong and right can sometimes look the same.  So many things I know, but they don't help me, Each day I open up my eyes and start again.  “The Light” is overwhelmingly beautiful, and a track that constantly seems to be growing in sheer power.  Once again, this has a super theatrical feel, with every instrumental right on point.  The only complaint I have even though its a small one, is the length.  “The Light” is over 6 minutes long, and don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t bored at any point.  It just, ya know could have been a little shorter and it wouldn’t have hurt.  “The Trapper and The Furrier” is the album’s most twisted couple of minutes.  Once again, this one has a HUGE theatrical feel to it, but this track sounds so much more sinister, mostly from Regina’s short, frantic vocal passages and that doom-like piano floating through the back.  Lyrically this is powerful, with Regina making some of the bigger statements of the album.  However, while I thought that I would LOVE a more dark tinged Regina Spektor, but I’m not totally invested in this one.  And it’s a shame because there is so much to love here.  Regina’s performance is fiery and has a strong improv, and very reminiscent of her “11:11” album.  Lyrically too this is absolutely a spectacle. Everything else though is kind of on the bland side sadly.  However, when the instrumentals pick up in the last minute or so, “The Trapper and The Furrier” does get a whole lot more interesting.  Sadly the next track “Tornadoland” doesn’t really do much for me either, with once again an intro that sounds exactly what you would expect and Regina Spektor intro to sound like.  The vocal harmonies here are nice and all, but lyrically these tracks are seriously starting to blend together.  “Tornadoland” is solid and all, and far from bad, but there’s really not much that sticks out either.  The backing bells are nice and all, and the other instrumentals floating through the background make it powerful and all.  Sadly it’s Regina that kinda underwhelms me.  The instrumentals though make “Tornadoland” listenable, as every single instrumental gets epic beyond words in the final moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-aYEPsauho

“Obsolete” starts to wind down the album with the exact opposite of a fiery performance.  This one is seriously one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire album.  Regina has so many dynamics she can hit, so many musical personalities, it’s really quite incredible.  She can be quirky and charming, she can be filled with passion, or she can totally blow you away with an absolutely stunning performance like “Obsolete”.  It’s the closest you’re going to find to a traditional ballad on this album, and even her piano playing is near tear-jerking.  On top of all of that, this is one of the most personal tracks here, with Regina absolutely sounding like she wrote this is one of her darker moments in life.  The backing synthesizers and strings that come in make “Obsolete” go from absolutely stunning to completely breathtaking.  And while it’s a 6 minute track, I honestly wouldn’t have trimmed a single thing down.  Then we have the finale, “The Visit”.  For the most part, this is just more of the same in the best way.  Regina here sounds just so adorable and cute, Once again the song’s topics are simple, Regina however makes it work though because she’s just that good.  All of these backing instrumentals here (and for the rest of the album basically) in the past would have seriously drowned Regina out, overpowering her.  “Remember Us To Life” though isn’t the case.  The album as a whole is Regina’s most focused work in years, coming off as some huge production in a theatre of sorts.

Rating: 8.4/10

Give A Listen To:  "Older and Taller", "Grand Hotel", “The Light”, Small Bill$”


Overall Thoughts: Regina may have taken a few years off, but the results don't lie.  This is her strongest album in years, and this is the most focused she's sounded in ages.  She's her same quirky self, and still feels totally comfortable in bringing out her more fiery side when need be.  She writes wonderful, touching ballads, as well as plenty of cute, charming piano pop songs that I simply can't say no to.

Bon Iver - "22, A Million"

Bon Iver really need no introduction at this point.  This indie folk band lead by mastermind Justin Vernon just seem to get bigger and bigger as the years go on.  When I first heard Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago", I was absolutely floored by it.  The sheer amount of emotion, mainly sadness, on that record is almost unbearable.  Add in Vernon's sweet vocals and a warm cozy atmosphere, and you have one hell of a folk album.  But Vernon and Bon Iver didn't stop there.  Before the release of their next album, Vernon started making some big time friends that seriously began to affect the sound of Bon Iver's music.  Firstly, he became close with James Blake, which almost instantly had Vernon getting more interested in electronic music on Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" EP.  Vernon also became close with friend of the world Kanye West, with Vernon showing up on multiple tracks on West's seminal "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy".  All of these new friends seriously had a huge effect on Bon Iver's next album, "Bon Iver, Bon Iver".  The album was a gigantic success, winning many Grammy's and appearing on just about every "Best Of" list that year.  That being said, I seriously didn't care for it.  Pick your jaw up off the floor and hear me out, will ya?  Some of the instrumentals and Vernon's vocals on "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" were incredible.  But I didn't feel nearly as many emotions listening to it, plus that thing was overproduced to unholy levels.  I tried listening to it hundreds of times, even last week in preparation for this review, but I still enjoy Bon Iver's earlier work much much more.  Which is why when I heard this album was more of an electronica album, boy oh boy I got worried.  I wanted to hear emotion from Justin Vernon again, I wanted an album that was going to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, and hearing that instantly discouraged that notion.  Not to mention, once I saw the tracklist I was confused and frightened, I doubted I was going to find any warmth in a track called "10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠".  So lets see what Vernon and Bon Iver have brought to the table this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssdgFoHLwnk

(So many years later, still amazing)

The album starts off pretty coldly with “22 (OVER S∞∞N)”, right away this clearly was not the intro I was looking for.  Even though I kinda had a feeling on what to expect.  it’s still pretty darn chilly.  Bon Iver have given up a lot of live instrumentals here for a more sample based sound for the most part, but honestly, they do it justice.  Once Justin gets warmed up on vocals he sound honestly warmer than ever, his voice has really grown tremendously with age.  The glitchy production is going to come off super annoying to some, but call me crazy, I dig it.  Even though tracks like “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” are so quiet and small sounding, there’s a great power behind all of them.  The instrumentals aren’t overpowering, but to call them anything less than epic would be lying.  The keyboards that float through are sweet, and that saxophone solo is absolutely killer.  So so far, I really don’t have a lot of complaints by this point in the album, and by this point I have a whole lot more to talk about than Bon Iver’s last album.  Moving on to “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠”, the track starts off with these intense, sloppy drums.  Justin Vernon here seems to be taking a big page out of his buddy Kanye’s book and trying out the sounds Ye produced on “Yeezus”.  It’s not pretty, it’s pretty gruesome, it’s muddy as hell, but Bon Iver make it work strangely enough.  It’s ugly, but it works.  The samples floating through the background are truly haunting, and Vernon’s vocals here aren’t nearly as soothing.  Vernon though hops on some James Blake styler vocal effects and regains the attention of the listener pretty quickly.  All I can say is, like Kanye’s “Yeezus”, this album is going to alienate the hell out of Bon Iver fans.  Some are going to accept it, and others are going to cling on to their vinyl copy of “Bon Iver, Bon Iver”, Starbucks coffee in hand.  I don’t mind it one bit though, and those drums that come booming as well as Vernon’s more bluesy vocals make this one killer track.  The instrumental to “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠” by the end of the track has become absolutely stunning.  “22, A Million” is an album you have to be super patient with for it to pay off, but it is worth it.  A few tracks later, Bon Iver break out the very odd “33 “GOD”’.  The intro to this track is absolutely bizarre, with no instrumental really giving away too much.  Some of the samples Vernon has assembled aren’t just random tracks thrown together, they all fit very nicely in the atmosphere surrounding these tracks.  The distant strings that always sound so far away sound so warm, but the chilling synths constantly keep them at bay.  Honestly more than anything, those strings make me feel nostalgic for his early, very woodsy recordings, but as far as contributing to the atmosphere those strings do wonders.  When things pick up on “33 “GOD”” everything just gets so smooth.  Vernon has decided against the more muddy, abrasive production on this one which is a solid idea.  The instrumentals floating through the background, such as the horns, continue to sound so distant.  It almost sounds like your dreaming, and those horns in the distance are actually happening and that electronic beat is keeping you dreaming.  Whatever Bon Iver are going for, it’s incredibly eye opening.  Then, for all you old school Bon Iver fans up next we have a real treat.  “29 #Strafford APTS” is the closest thing you’re going to hear to folk music here, and it’s really solid to be perfectly honest.  The intro is as warm and cozy as it should be.  When those strings come in behind Justin Vernon’s vocals, things become absolutely breathtaking.  These are by far some of the best vocals on the entire album, there really isn’t a weak spot from start to finish.  Lyrically, I dunno, it’s alright.  Between this album and Bon Iver’s last album I really don’t think his lyrics are as ground breaking as he or his fans believe they are.  These are solid lyrical performances though, I can’t completely knock them.  “29 #Strafford APTS” overall is really good, up until those last few production tricks that are just kind of annoying.  I only really have one major issue so far, and it really doesn’t let up either for the remainder of the album.  The tracks on “22, A Million” really don’t stand a chance on their own.  On their own, they sound like incomplete thoughts, solid ones, but incomplete.  As a whole though, it’s special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxPWfoBWa8k

The sleekness of “22, A Million” as well as the confusing song titles continue on with “666 ʇ”.  The atmosphere that Justin Vernon has assembled here quite frankly commendable.  It’s equal parts cold and distant, while also being dreamy, and strangely inviting, it’s hard to pull off.  “666 ʇ “ gets started with once again Bon Iver not giving away not too much at all.  Justin’s vocals on this one are so tiny sounding, while those instrumentals occasionally peaking out behind that electronic wall are charming.  As far as Justin’s vocals go, these are some of his most soulful here, and when everything else picks up around him “666 ʇ” becomes absolutely stunning.  The drums that eventually work their way in are thunderous, and every other instrumental follows suit, making “666 ʇ” probably the most epic track here.  Once again though as solid as some of these tracks are, you have to be really patient with them, this is a casual Bon Iver fan’s nightmare.  If you are patient though, so many of these tracks pay off.  “21 M♢♢N WATER” is up next with easily the most serene intro you’re going to hear on this album. Justin’s always been so good at painting these atmospheres.  Hell, this is so good, I’d even go as far as to say I’d love to hear Bon Iver try more with ambient music, because this seriously is overwhelming.  Justin’s vocals are solid here once again, but very soft, making “21 M♢♢N WATER” one of the quietest spectacles I’ve heard in a while.  This track turns even crazier once all the instrumentals start clashing into one another.  It’s messy as hell, but I can’t and don’t really want to turn away.  However, like I said, it is messy, and some people are going to walk right by this without a peep.  Lets get into some more underwhelming tracks.  “715 - CRΣΣKS” early on in the album takes a little too much out of the playbook of James Blake, to the point where multiple times while I was writing up my notes for this I actually wrote “James” instead of Justin.  Hell, this sounds like it would have fit awful nicely right on James Blake’s self titled album (with a little less of an R&B sound that is).  And it’s a shame, because Justin’s vocals here are really solid, and show just how smooth his voice has become.  Not to mention, hearing the contrast of his actual vocals clashing up against the vocals smothered in effects is pretty much a spectacle within itself.  “715 - CRΣΣKS” is overall not terrible.  But outside of Justin’s vocals, there’s literally nothing really happening at all, I need atleast a little more of an instrumental to enjoy this.  Then we have “8 (circle)” which brings in a strong 80’s throwback sound, which if you listened to Bon Iver’s last album, won’t surprise you one bit.  I’ll give “8 (circle)” this, it’s really nice to hear Justin without all of these vocal effects for a change.  But while his vocals are spectacular here, and there’s a pretty instrumental and all, this track does NOT have to be over 5 minutes long.  The horns that pop in are nice.  The atmosphere is serene.  But 5 minutes of this?  I could see maybe 3 minutes, 3 and a half would be pushing it.  There are all these little passages that keep popping up that just don’t need to be there.  It’s still not terrible though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96t0rlPmn2E

Let’s wrap this up, so far to be honest this review is going a whole lot smoother than I thought it would have.  “____45_____” starts off with a nice little horn solo that’s pretty solid, honestly wasn’t expecting that.  As this album goes on, I feel like Justin’s vocals become less saturated behind these effects used.  Here, we see Justin trying out some almost jazzy vocals.  It’s ok, but overall “____45_____” isn’t the most exciting track here, I do give Justin credit though for breaking things up nicely.  Which brings us to the finale, “00000 Million”.   Right from this intro, if you’re a Bon Iver fan you know you’re in for a treat.  Here, we’re getting just the right amount of contrast between Justin’s vocals, the piano melodies, and these super dense yet gorgeous atmospheres. The harmonies here couldn't be more on point, and the samples Justin continues to throw in to these recording continue to be well thought out.  Listening to “00000 Million” absolutely gives me the chills, mostly because as electronic and left field this album has been, THIS is the track I wanted to hear from Bon Iver.  Justin is 100% the star of this one, and every single one of his talents is on display in the fullest.  His performance here is absolutely tear jerking, much more so than anything I’ve heard from Bon Iver since their debut album.  What a truly beautiful finale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqojM1TYqo

Rating: 8.1/10

Give A Listen To: “22 (OVER S∞∞N)”, “29 #Strafford APTS”, “666 ʇ”, “00000 Million"

Overall Thoughts:  Going into this album I seriously wasn't expecting much at all, Bon Iver seriously have't impressed me in years.  Then I heard what Bon Iver were doing on this album as far as their sound and I honestly almost didn't give this a listen.   But, I'm glad I did.  This sheer bizarreness of this album goes far beyond the track listing (I still don't get like half these titles).  "22, A Million" is sometimes messy and abrasive, while other times relaxing and serene and warm.  It's strange, but also absolutely gorgeous.  A word of advice though, if you're going to check it out, listen to it all the way through, these tracks are meant to be played together.  

Pixies - "Head Carrier"

Pixies are one of the most iconic, influential, and honestly most important alternative rock bands of all time, and for good reason,  just look at the list of artists they've influenced.  For the most part, their first four albums are some of the most iconic in the genre (although I'm not exactly much of a fan of "Trompe le Monde", never have been).  However in recent years, Pixies have been very active, with questionable results to say the least.  When they first reunited it was really exciting, as the band was playing all of their older material.  Then, we have "Indie Cindy".  Oh BOY.   "Indie Cindy" was Pixies first album in 13 years, and when I say it was one of the worst albums I've ever had to review, I'm not joking.  Needless to say, after that I thought Pixies were done.  But no!  Here we are, two years later sitting here with "Head Carrier".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPgf_btTFlc

(A classic for ya, if you haven't listened to "Doolittle", you really ought to).

“Head Carrier” starts off with it’s title track.  At first, the instrumentals actually sound focused for the most part.  The Pixies while they’ve released some questionable material, at least you can say they’re confident.  The only thing I’m not totally buying is that guitars which are a bit too chugging for my liking.  Joey Santiago’s guitar work has always been only part of the Pixies recipe, but on this it’s the main focal point and it’s just a little too much.  As far as vocals go, Black Francis’s vocals have aged fairly well, and sound more on point here then they have the last few years.  The vocal melodies during the verses are fine and all, but the hook on “Head Carrier” is a flop and doesn’t flatter Francis at all.  Even the lyrics aren’t terrible, not nearly as memorable as they once were, but not horrible.  Everything on this opener realistically isn’t that bad.  It’s just, you know, not that good either, and it most certainly sounds very tame.  “Classic Masher” is up next, and for the most part it has a lot of the same positives and negatives.  The instrumentals that start us off here they’re pretty solid.  However I’m starting to realize a very bad trend.  This all just sounds so fake to me.  More or less, tracks like “Classic Masher” and a BUNCH of other tracks on here come off as The Pixies doing an impression of themselves in their glory days.  Lyrically, this is absolutely boring beyond belief, seriously if the Pixies heard this track in the 80’s they would have thought it was so uncool.  The vocals from Paz Lenchantin here are ok and all, but at the end of the day all they really do is make me miss Kim Deal so much (Unless that was Pixies intention.  If it was, man did you guys succeed).  As “Classic Masher” goes on, instrumental wise it stays strong, and sure there are some catchy moments.  But my God, this is borderline pop rock, and that’s something that I thought I’d never say about The Pixies.  Shockingly, “Baal’s Back”, the next track, seriously blows me away.  Right off the bat this tune has a whole lot going for it.  The instrumental here is fierce, with a crunchy guitar riff packing plenty of bite.  Black Francis here sounds like a damn monster, crushing these vocals just as he would have in the early 90’s.  Hell, there were tracks on “Doolittle” and “Bossanova” that didn’t pack as much of a punch as “Baal’s Back”.  But here’s my problem with all of this.  “Baal’s Back” proves that Pixies can still write a solid tune.  I mean it’s short, it’s aggressive, it’s catchy when it has to be, what more can you ask for?  That being said, why the hell is everything else so damn inconsistent?  Up next is “Might As Well Be”, a much easier track on the ears, but honestly it’s just as entertaining and well-penned.  The intro is a little awkward, but Pixies clean up their act pretty quickly here.  Francis’s vocals here sound just about as solid as they could be, and his melodies he shares with Lenchantin actually go over very well here.  Now back in the early 90’s,  Pixies were known for their unbelievable shifts between loud and soft dynamic in tunes, the bells during the chorus on “Might As Well Be” actually do wonders to the softer sound here.  It’s far from perfect, and it’s clearly not as expertly crafted as their songs once were.  But call me crazy, but I like this track a lot, the melodies are just so darn likable.  It’s been a sloppy album so far though, an it’s only going to get sloppier from here on out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UVaEAOlwA8

I mean this goes without saying, but this album here is messy messy MESSY.  “Oona” I seriously have faith in when I first hear that intro using a little buildup.  However that buildup goes absolutely nowhere and falls completely flat.  Tracks like this are seriously just so painful to listen to.  Lyrically, if Black Francis and the rest of the Pixies heard this 30 years ago they would have been disgusted by this.  The Pixies may sound completely comfortable with this track, almost too comfortable.  But honestly I can’t take “Oona” seriously one bit.  Hearing tracks like this worry me for Pixies future.  They sound like they think they know what they’re doing completely, that they still have their sound down to a science.  Clearly, they don’t, and it only gets worse.  “Bel Esprit” later on is just about the blandest thing here, and that’s saying something.  At this point in the album, you can argue that half of the tracks on “Head Carrier” sound insanely similar, and that’s because they do.  By the time we get to “Bel Esprit, even the melodies are beginning to blend together, it’s bad.  No, it’s not a bad song, but seriously this sounds like at least 3 other songs on here.  A lot of these songs may be catchy and all, but they have no character to them, and thats where this album fails the most.  Take for example “Tenement Song”.   There are a few tracks on here, and I stress only a few, that have some meat to them.  “Tenement Song” right from the opening bars is just so bland and lifeless, even during the catchy, solid chorus.  But outside of that, nothing is really happening at all.  Lyric-wise there is literally nothing to grasp on to.  The Pixies are playing it safe, way too safe.  Hell this album couldn’t be any safer if it had a helmet on.  But after all these complaints, I sit here and think to myself “Ya know, this is still better than their last album, so at least they're progressing”.  THEN I hear “All I Think About Now”.  This is easily the most painful thing I’ve had to listen to all year, and if you heard it you know exactly why.  Before, Pixies were just attempting to work with the same old formula trying to make it work.  But on “All I Think About Now”, they’re literally ripping themselves off in one of the most awkward moments I’ve heard all year.  To go deeper into it, literally seconds into this one they rehash the guitar line from “Where Is My Mind”, one of their most well known tracks.  Paz Lenchantin’s vocals here are actually really solid, but everything else about this gets under my skin like you wouldn’t imagine.  The other instrumentals here aren’t really any better, the main focus though remains the focus as it blares out desperately trying to reclaim some of The Pixies lost fans.  “All I Think About Now” is painful to hear on so many levels, but Francis’s vocals and performance here save it if only a little.  

This album is seriously a rough listen, especially when you have so much respect for The Pixies and what they’ve done in their career.  God lets freakin end this already so I can go listen to “Doolittle” or something.  The instrumentals that quickly roll in on “Talent” have a little force behind them which is nice to hear, the vocals that come in aren’t that bad either.  Lyrically though, this one is so bizarre, and almost makes me not enjoy it.  Not that these are bad lyrics, they’re just strange.  The music of Pixies was once filled with great imagery and consisted of lavish imaginative passages.  “Talent” is a fairly straightforward track about the music imagery, very odd.  Lyric wise, I’ll pass, but everything else on this track is solid.  “Um Chagga Lagga” was one of the early singles dropped from the album, and it’s a fairly solid tune.  Francis here sounds great, and oddly youthful and energetic.  The lyrics are almost goofy here, but on this track it actually works pretty nicely.  “Um Chagga Lagga” could have used some better melodies and a stronger chorus, but besides that, it’s not bad.  You know I seriously wish I could love this album, but it’s just so freakin sloppy.  “Plaster of Paris” starts off smooth with some of Joey Santiago’s smoothest guitar tones on the entire album (Which no, that isn’t saying much, but roll with me here).  This track isn’t that bad, but once again it’s seriously not that good either.  Instrumentally “Plaster of Paris” is solid, but as far as lyrics go this one rolls by without a single memorable line.  Finally we have the finale, “All The Saints”.  Right from the get-go, this one sounds bland, and what do you know, it is.  The guitars here once again sound pretty solid, but everything else is very hard to grasp and even harder to enjoy. I seriously wish I could like this album more.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5etbxk-nIs8

Rating : 6.4/10

Give A Listen To: Give A Listen To: “Um Chagga Lagga”, “Baal’s Back“, “Might As Well Be Gone”, "Talent"

Overall Thoughts:  You know in a perfect world I would love for them to drop another amazing album.  But man is their formula messed up.  Almost every track here has some really solid features to it, but also have really obvious flaws.  At the end of the day, these tracks aren't the worst thing I've heard all year, but they're really not that great either.  Hey, at least it's better than "Indie Cindy".

Banks - "The Altar"

Banks (AKA Jillian Banks) over the years has been an artist that's absolutely fascinated me.  With the release of her first album 'Goddess" way back in 2014, critics and fans were really divided on the album.  A lot of people found it underwhelming given just how much hype there was leading up to it.  Not to mention, a lot of the tracks from "Goddess" weren't new tracks at all, and appeared on early EP's and singles.  That being said, I'm a huge fan of "Goddess".  While I absolutely understand people's gripes with it, I can't help to fall in love with the bass heavy, moody, dark alternative R&B sound of it.  The singles leading up to her newest album, "The Altar" shocked me though.  It sounded like Banks was much more confident in her voice, but was also going for a much pop-oriented sound.  Let's chat about "The Altar".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twix375Me4Q
(Still give me chills)


The album starts off with “Gemini Feed”, which as far as a single goes from Banks, it may be the best one here.  The beat immediately is clearly more playful and easy on the ears than anything she's been on in the past.  The beat is almost sweet if it wasn’t for that dark edge that Banks always seems to be trailing Banks.  The playfulness of the beat however may be the only real new element when it comes to “Gemini Feed” though.  As far as the mood goes, Banks is still her same old self, and the bass that eventually booms its way in is directly out of “Goddess”’s book. That all being said though, this may be one of Banks’s easiest to swallow singles.  She’s always had a very harsh alternative R&B sound, which in some cases can be really tough to get into.  “Gemini Feed” on the other hand is just a single that showcases Banks for who she is, and contains some of her catchiest moments.  Banks is one hell of a singer, but it was kind of hard to tell at times on “Goddess” due to her clinging to vocal effects for dear life.  Here though she really breaks out of that and shines as a great singer.  The vocal effects are still present, but on “Gemini Feed” they fit the mood perfectly, but I can totally understand if people find them annoying.  But right away this album takes a huge nosedive with the much more obnoxious single of “Fuck With Myself”.  I give it credit, this one is at least unsettling, I’m not used to hearing Banks on such a small, minimal beat.   In a way, that’s a really great thing for Banks, she needs to occasionally step back and get on a less flashy beat to showcase some of those singin’ skills.  But lyrically this track is just so bland, as she goes for this whole big statement about paranoia that’s literally been done dozens of times.  The verses here are just awful, and some of the deeper vocal effects just come off as awkward.  The chorus though is solid enough to hold my interest, but overall Banks is going for a much more abrasive, experimental sound.  This absolutely sounds like a beat that FKA Twigs would land on in a heartbeat.  Hell Banks even a stab at those whispered, hurt vocals that Twigs has become so famous for.  No, “Fuck With Myself” isn’t the worst track here, but I expect more.  “Lovesick” is up next and is a huge improvement, with an even more minimal beat.  In this case though, it’s a little too minimal, as on this one I can seriously use a nice shot of bass.  Banks however saves this one with a sleek atmosphere and a very sexy mood (seriously Banks can create insanely sexy moods when she puts her mind to it).  She always seems to be painting herself as this “tragically in love” character, almost in the same light that Lana Del Rey does (without the drugs though, for the most part).  Banks though pulls that character off very well.  “Lovesick” is a solid tune, I just wish the beat got going a little sooner and maybe there were one or two more interesting lines here and there.  Up next though is another fine single, “Mind Games”, which compared to other singles here literally sounds directly off of “Goddess”, at least at first.  The beat here is a ghastly one, with the only thing shedding even the slightest bit of light here is Banks’s vocals.  She was always so shrouded in mystery on her previous material, but “The Altar” as a whole really has her stepping out of the shadows and showing off herself more.  The chorus on “Mind Games” is powerful, and as a whole this may be one of the pop-oriented tracks she’s ever touched.  It’s a strange track, one that doesn’t give away too much at all and always seems to be creeping along slowly.  However Banks absolutely slays on this beat, hitting some eye opening high notes hear and there as well.  Overall, it’s a very good single, and a solid tune to introduce people to Banks to with.  These slow burning alternative R&B/pop tunes are where Banks shines the most, take for example “To The Hilt” late in the album.  Some of these intros give away so little, as Banks has you on the edge of your seat ready to see which direction she's going to go in.  While she sounds absolutely incredible vocally, lyrically I wanted to bring this track up for a reason, and we’re going to go a lot deeper into this soon.  Banks lyrically needs an entire revamping.  SHE sounds amazing, and keeps pushing her musical sound out into great new areas.  Lyrically though, she hasn’t matured a bit, and is still writing the same tracks off of “Goddess” I feel like. And it’s a shame because everything else adds up, especially on “To The Hilt”.  Her vocal performance here is absolutely stunning, with a lyrical shift she can absolutely become a gigantic star in her genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7z-tA9oLPw

Banks though throughout “The Altar” really drifts into a more pop oriented sound plenty of times and to be honest it really works great for her.  Take for example the early track “Trainwreck”.  Immediately this is clearly the most upbeat track I’ve ever heard Banks produce.  It’s not going to be for everyone, there are going to be plenty that hear this and immediately think that Banks went pop star on us.  Personally though, I find it a refreshing change of pace, and a darn catchy one at that.  Banks has become so much more comfortable with herself and her singing voice the last few years.  The chorus she provides s with here is a darn feisty one, where once again Banks paints herself as the “bad girl” (even though she rarely backs that up or gives us examples).  However,  “Trainwreck” overall works for Banks so much and it’s just so interesting to hear her on such an upbeat track.  On the other hand, “This Is Not About Us”, is just as upbeat but kinda misses overall.   On this track, there are once again way too many vocal effects to the point where they're completely working against Banks.  “This Is Not About Us” isn’t terrible at all, but honestly those vocal effects take a track that’s supposed to be serious and makes it just corny overall.  The instrumentals here though are really solid on the other hand, especially that driving synth behind Banks for the verses.  Things even get better late into the track when these tribal like drums come in.  Overall “This Is Not About Us” is far from unlistenable, but those vocal effects just brought it down a few notches.  Well I’ve been pretty easy on Banks so far, now it’s time for some major complaints.  “Mother Earth” Banks?  What the hell were you thinking?   When your having a slump filling in the pieces of the middle of your album, the last thing you should do is attempt an acoustic track.  ESPECIALLY when you’re trying to build your name in the alternative R&B field.  “Mother Earth” sounds like it crept out of the darkest corner of the 90’s.  Lyrically, I get where she's coming from, I really do.  But everything else about this one is just awful, and easily one of the most cringe-worthy songs I’ve heard all year.   “Weaker Girl” realistically isn’t much better.   We start off with even more vocal effects that are doing a grand total of nothing at this point.  Some of the darker, heavier tracks here are welcomed to use all the vocal effects in the world, but on a more minimal sounding track like this it just gets suffocating and absolutely distracting.  Once again, Banks is putting on her best “Tough Girl” act, which I really don’t understand.  Here she constantly describes herself as a “Bad motherfucker”, so tell me what makes you so “Bad”.  Maybe if we got an example or two for once, it wouldn’t bother me nearly as much.  Here, Bank’s vocals don’t even sound confident in the slightest, if they’re supposed to sound that way for this track that’s one thing, but I doubt it.  My main issue with “Weaker Girl” though is that it’s supposed to be this gigantic statement and it BARELY even passes at that.  The strings that come in are quite nice though, I’ll give it that.  Then we have “Judas” which leads me to another problem I have with Banks.  This track starts off fantastic with this great heavy, dark sound.  But everything else is just so simple.  I feel like more times than not Banks has all the right ingredients for an awesome track, but doesn't go the extra mile to put them all together.  The beat to “Judas” has no meat on it, at least for the first portion of the song, it does liven up a little and get quite funky actually.  The chorus here is one of the simpler ones on the entire album, but man oh man is it ever effective.  I just wish the beat here was more consistent and the verses weren’t so bland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjoFBsBQqtE

Thankfully, Banks ends off the album on a pretty solid note.  Take “Haunt” for example, which drives us deep into this much darker sound that I’ve been craving.  Sometimes Banks goes for a more darker sound and it just kinda flops, but “Haunt” succeeds on every level.  The drums here are absolutely to die for, and the beat is easily the most unsettling thing here.  Listening to her last album, I never thought I’d hear Banks on a tribal beat and absolutely killing it like she is.  She’s still the same moody Banks, but this more upbeat feel absolutely adds to that and adds for some interesting twists.  Meanwhile I have no idea who came up with adding in all these animal sounds, but I can’t get enough of it.   Not to mention, her vocals on that refrain are some of her best of the entire album.  Anyone who wasn't a fan of Banks’s earlier, more ethereal stuff should really give this a try.  “Poltergeist” more or less sounds like a semi-sloppy B-Side from “Goddess”.  It absolutely lives up to it’s title with an absolutely ghastly beat.  The rest of the track though is just ok, mainly because of how incredibly overproduced this sounds.  Not to mention, it’s generic “spooky” tracks like this that I feel are a little goofy, and are just a cheap attempt to cash in on Banks’s image.  Finally we have the absolutely stunning conclusion “27 Hours”.  It seems like the same old sounding intro, with Banks talking about the same old stuff on a beat that doesn’t give away too much at first.  However, when that wall of sound hits and the beat completely evolves,  “27 Hours” quickly becomes one of the album’s most memorable moments.  I haven’t been this moved physically by a Banks track in ages, with a sound I can only really describe as “Goddess on Steroids”.  Here, the vocal effects are gladly welcomed and add so much depth to this one, where in the hell was this sound?  But this brings up the question, where is Banks going to go from here now that she's clearly more comfortable with herself?   I want an album that sounds like “27 Hours” pronto girl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMa0C5djpGI

Rating : 7.5/10

Give A Listen To: “Gemini Feed”, “Trainwreck”, “27 Hours”, :”Haunt”

Overall Thoughts:  Most of this album I think is actually really solid.  Banks is so much more comfortable now as a performer, and is really stepping it up as far as vocal performances go.  There's also a lot more ear candy and single material as well.  But lyric wise, while there isn't a lot of awful stuff happening here, there are so many lyrics here that I feel like Banks has written so many times.  Banks's more pop oriented tracks here go over pretty well actually, while on the other hand her more "Goddess" sounding tracks go over solidly as well.  There are inconsistencies, but I'm pleased, and very excited to see what Banks does next.