PC Music - P C Music Vol. 2

PC Music for those of you who stay clear from electronic music is A London based Record label, headed by A.G. Cook.  Over the last few years PC Music has gotten quite a bit of exposure due to the success of acts like Cook, SOPHIE (who I just can't get enough of), as well as Hannah Diamond and Danny L Harle.  Since then, they've also produced some brilliant stuff for pop artists like Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen.  However, their style is absolutely NOT for everyone though, as almost all of PC Music's acts focus around Chipmunk'ed vocals, heavy bass, and chaotic yet playful synths. That being said, I've always been a HUGE advocate for the label, and I always give a listen to whatever they're doing.  However, their first compilation which dropped last year was a little underwhelming.  Don't get me wrong, Thy Slaughter's "Bronze", Danny L Harle's "In My Dreams" and other tracks on their were exactly what I was looking for.  But so many styles of PC Music's oddball approach to pop clashing one track after another to me just didn't really suit well with me.  However, since then PC Music has gotten bigger than ever, and Danny L Harle's early single from this new compilation "Super Natural (Featuring Carly Rae Jepsen)" is easily one of the best pop tracks I've heard all year.  So lets dive into PC Music's second compilation.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVc3Z-bG6Eo

(P C Music associate and one of my favorites SOPHIE)

This compilation starts with “Fade Away” from P C Music fave Hannah Diamond.  Now for the most part, I feel like Hannah’s music is where it people begin listening to P C Music, and promptly turn it off.  And you know to an extent I do understand where people are coming from with that, Hannah is a repeat offended of chipmunk vocals and an overtly bubblegum sound that just might be too much for people.  “Fade Away” however is a little different for Hannah, and if you’ve listened to her stuff in the past just to get turned off, I really think you may want to listen to this one.  We start off with some super chilly synths which you could probably expect, but bizarrely enough when Hannah comes in she doesn’t sound nearly as drowned in vocal effects as she usually does.  It’s refreshing to hear Hannah in her more natural state, her vocals come off quite nicely here to say the very least.  Instantly, it makes the music of P C Music more human sounding and less synthetic, not to mention in the last year or so the production on these tracks have sky-rocketed.  It’s still quirky and fun, but at the same time it’s sounds a little less childish and certainly less obnoxious.  Hannah here as the track goes on seriously gets tons of time to show off her vocals, when was the last time you could say that about a P C Music Track.  No, it’s still not going to be for everyone, there are still glitchy production tricks here and bubblegum pop there.  But I for one find it absolutely adorable and catchy.  Here we are one track into this compilation and I already have more to say then the last compilation.  We still aren’t dealing with any club bangers, no this is pop for a different crowd altogether, but it’s just as catchy.  To be honest, I can’t get over how warm and inviting “Fade Away” is.  I mean when you think of P C Music, it’s so easy to just kind’ve throw them in with a lot of other modern dance or electronica acts.  But Hannah here is proving that wrong, with a legitimately heartfelt performance.  Some of the later vocals are a little more on the obnoxious side, but Hannah recovers, making for a nice start to this comp.  Hannah Diamond isn’t done with us yet though.  Later on in the track list we have “Hi”, which let me just say I love way too much.  When I think about it, so much of “Hi” is everything I hate about modern pop and dance music, but Hannah makes it work wonderfully.  Interestingly enough, her vocals here are far less inviting then they were earlier, hell she barely sounds human here.  Hannah here, outside of the chorus, sounds so robotic, it almost sounds like she got Siri to recite “Hi” for her.  There really isn’t that much to the beat either, compared to everything else P C Music has done this is ridiculously minimal.  Besides that, “Hi” is a home run for Hannah.  Anyone whose ever tried online dating can seriously relate to the entire track, and the coldness of the beat and atmosphere actually makes for a really huge statement.  On top of all of that, Hannah’s performance is beyond adorable, I seriously want to just go and give her a big ol’ hug listening to this.  Like I said earlier, this sure as hell isn’t going to be for everyone, and listening to this may turn you off to P C Music altogether, but I seriously can’t help eating all of this up.  Earlier in the compilation, EASYFUN and Noonie Bao (whose written brilliant tunes for my girls Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen) bring us “Monopoly”.  Right off the bat, THIS is much of what people expect to hear when they think of P C Music.  The rhythms are bouncing all over the place and synths are just as wild, but damn is it fun.  The vocals that come in soon after are strictly bubblegum pop, there’s a lot of that here to be honest.  “Monopoly” is far less personal and more robotic and synthetic sounding, but it sticks with you and doesn’t let go.  I would even say any big fan of J-Pop will seriously dig this and should check it out ASAP.  And once again, the production here is HUGE sounding, especially that much more bass driven sound at the end of the track.  But as we go deeper into this compilation, this gets much more into love it or hate it territory.  Take for example felicita’s “a new family”.  This track starts off with the least inviting synths of the entire album so far.  As it picks up, “a new family” almost sounds like something Crystal Castles would have done a few years back.  But for me, what really makes this track enjoyable are these bizarre guttural screams popping in and out.  They’re so over the top and ridiculous that I can’t help but love it, and they work great against the much darker atmosphere of this track.  As “a new family” goes on, it seriously begins to pick up, almost sounding like something off of a video game soundtrack (picture a really dark level on Sonic The Hedgehog for Dreamcast, absolutely brilliant).  There’s some real strong tension being built up as the song continues, and the inclusion of children's voices towards the end does amazingly good and bad things.   The whispering during the verses makes for some seriously dark stuff, but their “rap” verse that follows clashes horribly and takes tons away from this one.  Overall it’s still pretty darn good.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKztreA6e7Y

Now that we’re warmed up, lets talk about my boy Danny L. Harle.  This guy is seriously zooming up the ranks in P C Music, mostly due to the success of this single here, “Super Natural”, featuring Carly Rae Jepsen (who if you haven’t listened to “Emotion” and “Emotion Side B” yet, stop right now and go do that, they’re both near flawless pop albums).  “Super Natural” has some of the boldest sounding production yet from P C Music, it ALMOST sounds like it could be a radio smash.  Almost.  Here and there you’re going to still find those production quirks from Danny that make this a P C Music track.  Carly’s performance here is just as innocent and sweet as she’s been known for in her last few albums.  What’s most impressive here is the chemistry between P C Music and Carly Rae.  Her sweet, girl-next-door image and their quirky production were seriously made for each other.  And if the rumors are true, and SOPHIE is going to be taking care of some of the production on Carly’s next project, I’m sold.  Carly’s huge vocals soaring over these huge blasts of synth and bass are chilling, in every way this is a seriously huge pop song.  Danny L Harle’s production is a little different to say the least from the rest of the P C Music clan.  His production often comes off as a little more pop sounding, but in an adventurous and fun way.  “Super Natural” may be my favorite pop song of the year, just saying.  Danny isn’t done with us yet, later on he serves up “Broken Flowers”.   The first thing you’re going to notice about this one, is that it’s certainly less pop sounding.  No this one sounds like a 90’s dance track, if it wasn’t for the more modern production I’d be certain that I stumbled upon my “A Night At The Roxbury” soundtrack.  To be honest though, that’s not a bad thing, Danny pulls it off really well, “Broken Flowers” ends up coming off like a B-Side to Diclosure’s “Settle” album.  The vocals are a little on the repetitive side, but the serious grooves on this one pick up major slack.  But it’s just upsetting to hear these super repetitive vocals when Carly did such a wonderful job earlier.  For a dance track though, there’s still plenty to like about this.  Like I said, I seriously wish Danny got another vocal guest for this one, but as a dance tune this gets a check in my book.  Not to mention, the last 40 seconds or so of “Broken Flowers” DOES get seriously intense.  What the biggest shame about this compilation is though, is the serious lack of character the rest of it has.  Take for example GFOTY’s “Poison”.  Now, GFOTY (which stands for Girlfriend Of The Year) had two tracks on the first PC Music Compilation, and those two tracks happened to be my least favorite there.  So going into “Poison” I had seriously low standards.  And what do you know, right from the intro of this one it doesn’t even sound adventurous, “Poison” just sounds ugly.  It’s super tinny sounding, and slightly industrial which I can deal with and all, but outside of that there’s nothing to report.  The vocals are some of the most obnoxious here by far, and everything else about “Poison” is just unappealing.  Eventually, the vocals do clean up a bit and get a little catchier.  But at the end of the day all “Poison” does is end a seriously strong streak of great tracks here.  And even worse, “Poison” almost comes off as…..dubstep *shivers*.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrFcxR4Y6C0

I think this compilation has a ton of potential, and could have really been one of my favorites on the year.  But heres my issue, P C Music should really stop making compilations at this point.  There are a few of their artists such as SOPHIE, Hannah Diamond, Danny L Harle, and A G Cook that I really feel like I’m getting to know the style of.  And in that case, these compilations are fantastic.  But the problem comes from the rest of the compilation.  They slap on about 5 or 6 other artists that only get about 2-3 minutes of time on the compilation.  What P C Music should really be doing at this point is taking these artists and helping them record EP’s to get their name out a little more.  For example, I know A G Cook’s style, and hearing him on this EP made me enjoy his music even more.  “Superstar”, call me crazy, is one of the first time I’ve really heard his singing.  I may have missed a track of his or two over the years, but yea this is my first outing with his vocals.  To be honest though, they come off pretty solid, and blend with his production quite well.  At its core, “Superstar” like a few other tracks here comes off as very human sounding, and emotionally stable to say the least.  A lot of people are going to overlook this as another radio dance hit, which is fine, it has tons of the same elements as one to be honest.  But I still really enjoy it, even though some of these lyrics are painfully cheesy, for the most part it does remain heartfelt at least.  The quirky production and vocal effects that pop up from time to time give it that extra P C Music flair.  My only real issue is, it seriously didn’t need to be almost 5 minutes long, everything here easily could have built up quicker.  It’s still a really solid track though, mostly because it lets A G Cook really show off his work.  Which is a whole lot more than I can say about the final two tracks on this compilation.  First we have “Only You” by Chris Lee.  My first question about this one is, who the hell are you sir?  My second question is, who the hell approved this track?   This doesn’t even come off as a P C Music track, this comes off as a no name DJ Cut.  “Only You” is by far the lowest point on this compilation, I seriously feel like I accidentally came upon some no name EDM station on satellite radio.  Then there’s the vocals which seriously I couldn’t pick out of a lineup if my life depended on it.  Even when the heavier, bass heavy production comes in towards the end it picks up little to no slack.  I’m just gonna move on.  Finally we “IDL” by Life Sim, another P C Music artist who I’m seriously not aware of. This one thankfully doesn’t come off nearly as bad.  Right off the bat, “IDL” is much more adventurous and fun sounding.  And while this track has a seriously slow start, the occasional blasts of bass keep this one super interesting.  However, “IDL” like I said is slow, and patience testing to say the least.  It builds nicely though, and has enough production quirks to keep you plenty interested.  But at the same time, it’s nothing that ear grabbing either, and then it just kinda ends.  Like I said, at this point P C Music have their name out there, their seriously need to start working on EP’s and solo albums.  This is still a solid compilation overall though, and much more memorable than the last.   

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

Rating: 7.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Super Natural”, “Hi”, “Superstar”, Monopoly

Overall Thoughts:  Well for one thing, this compilation is seriously much more memorable than its predecessor.  The first P C Music compilation had so many clashes of styles that most of the time it came off more ugly than progressive or ambitious.  This compilation though really helps us get to know some of the artists that have grown to be P C Music's heavy hitters, such as Hannah Diamond and Danny L Harle.  On the other hand, it leaves lesser known artists on the P C Music label to try desperately here to get noticed, most of the time it comes off pretty ugly.  This is a solid compilation as far as I'm concerned, but I don't want another.  I want P C Music to seriously start putting out some studio album's I can dive into already, their names are already plenty out there.  

The Men - "Devil Music"

Ahh, The Men.  When I say that back in 2012 I thought these guys were the next big thing in Indie Rock, trust me I did.  I first got introduced to them through their "Leave Home" album.  At the time, I was really into a bunch of super noisy garage punk bands.  Hearing "Leave Home" was completely eye opening for me, their energy and sheer punk/noise rock force was everything I wanted to hear at the time.  But Brooklyn's The Men didn't stop their, in 2012 they released their breakout album, "Open Your Heart".  On "Open Your Heart", The Men took their great energy, turned down the noise, started writing catchier hooks, but surprisingly didn't give up a single ounce of what made them great to begin with.  But if you listened to "Open Your Heart", you were right in the line of fire to see just how ambitious The Men seriously were.  Not only were they performing their gutsy sort of Post Punk, they were beginning to bring in sounds of Americana and Alternative Country, an odd addition to their hectic sound.  But they made it work wonderfully.  They continued this branching off in 2013 with "New Moon" and their "Campfire Songs" EP.  "Campfire Songs" was a pretty solid set of acoustic tunes, some which ended up on "New Moon", but showed their continue growing interest in Country and Americana.  By the time "New Moon" came around, The Men had almost completely outgrown their noise rock roots and were going for a more straight up punk sound, still heavily going into Americana and Alternative Country territories.  While some started to not understand The Men's music anymore, I Still went absolutely crazy for their sound, with "New Moon" containing some of my favorite Men song (namely "Half Angel Half Light" and "The Seeds".  That being said though, I do understand that some fans of The Men were seriously getting sick and tired of this new direction they were going in, something I got a little more of a taste of on "Tomorrow's Hits".   This album showed The Men focusing much more on piano rock instead of anything really heavy, and while their were still fantastic moments, I was starting to get a little confused on what The Men were even going for anymore.  So here we are a few years later now with "Devil Music".  Honestly, I loved the thought of The Men going down a darker path, and the artwork for this looked pretty sick.  And on top of all of that, I heard from long times fans that this was much heavier, so lets dive in.

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

(THE FEELS!!!! I literally have so many good memories with The Men's earlier albums.)

“Dreamer” starts this album off, and it doesn't waste a single second blasting off either.  Right off the bat, if you’ve been following The Men like I have, you’ll notice this is easily the harshest thing they’ve done since way back on “Leave Home”.   The Men clearly went for a more muddy production in order to attract back some of their old fans that have labeled them as going soft, and for the most part, it works.  “Dreamer” is heavy on the noise and distortion, but it doesn’t come off sloppy.  The vocals too are totally enjoyable, a little bizarre, but completely enjoyable.  There’s kinda a soul aspect to the singing during the verses, which is totally strange up against just how noisy everything else is.  But it all works really nicely, that strangely melodic chorus works too.  The Men are clearly back at their noisiest and most abrasive.  It comes off so well though, like The Men never really missed a step.  Anyone who really thinks these guys have gone soft needs to hear this ASAP.  “Dreamer” is a great, energetic start.  “Crime” is up next, one of the first tracks released from “Devil Music”.  Personally, it’s not for me, and almost made me steer clear of this album entirely.  It clearly has the same energy as the rest of the album, but “Crime” really lacks when it comes to being melodic.  The Men are at their best when they get a really good balance of raw punk energy and melodic hooks, and “Crime” certainly isn’t melodic.  The rougher vocals are a huge plus, and they don’t come off badly at all, and if you like The Men at their noisiest you’re gonna find TONS to love here.  For me though, “Crime” is all energy and no substance.  It doesn’t even come off as a throwback, it just sounds like The Men mudding up their sound to come off as heavy, it’s just a little disappointing.   “Lions Den” a few tracks later introduces us to the bluesier side of The Men, which honestly is shown off better later on in the album.  On “Lions Den” we start off with these seriously ugly guitar tones that quickly liven up into what may be the most chaotic sound I’ve ever heard from them.  The riff here is constantly moving, and really pretty hard to keep track of.  It all sort of whizzes by and comes off as kinda blurry.  “Lions Den” comes off as spontaneous in nature and there are going to be tons of people that eat that up.  The guitars are giving off so much feedback it’s almost gross, it’s just a little too messy for my liking.  However, I do like the whole chaotic feel to this one, and the harmonica floating through the back seriously makes it even more unpredictable.  Overall though, I want to praise this record, I think The Men are seriously on to something with a lot of this material, so let me get this one last ugly track out of the way so I can talk about how solid this is.  “Violate” starts off again with these massive feedback guitar tones, with enough fuzz and distortion to make Ty Segall himself blush.  It’s just sort of ugly though, and trust me I dig noisy rock, but only when it pays off in the end.  “Violate” continues to lumber on pretty slowly, to the point where it doesn’t even sound like The Men really.  It does however pick up nicely with some really enjoyable gritty vocals.  The instrumental though sort of never goes anywhere which kinda sucks, it comes off sounding like a mush of about 20 other noise rock bands.  Plenty are seriously going to dig the brute force of these tracks though.

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

While most of this album starts off with much heavier, abrasive material, most of the best moment’s on “Devil Music” come from this slick blues influence The Men go for.  “Patterns” probably sticks out to me the most.  This one starts off with a ridiculous groove and funky yet soulful riff.  After all the pummeling and chaos of the first few tracks, this is actually a nice little toss up.  We forget just how good The Men are at adapting to different sounds on the fly, that’s what made their early work so darn interesting, and “Patterns” is such a great example of that.  Everything here comes off so bluesy and soulful, this is absolutely the sound they should be clinging too for dear life.  While it’s still very current sounding, there’s an old time blues feeling to this that I haven’t heard in quite some time.  Even the vocals come off so raspy, everything on “Patterns” just works so well.  Also, some of those old time blues records from the 40’s and 50’s were just so damn dark in their own way.  The Men to an extent even take care of that, as “Patterns” seemingly has this thick veil over the entire performance, and not just on this track, the entire album.  Not to mention, while “Patterns” retains it’s composure on the surface, deep down their’s a strong sense of chaos.  I seriously think while “Devil Music” is far from perfect, The Men are seriously on to something that may lead to the best material they’ve released in years.  The bass on “Patterns” is borderline hypnotic, and The Men prove that seriously they can ride a groove like the best of them.  Hell, if you listen closely enough, you can even make out a little bit of that Alt-Country sound that they’ve been toying with forever.  If fans of “Open Your Heart” want to listen to a single track from “Devil Music”, make it “Patterns”, digging this so damn much.  “Ridin’ On” has the fierceness and explosive nature of some of the intro tracks to “Devil Music”, but with some very necessary slight changes.  Right off the bat, these are clearly some of the most melodic guitars you’re going to find here.  That alone gives “Ridin’ On” tons of character, at least more than some of the more explosive tracks that started us off here.  Once again we see The Men bringing in a slight southern flair, which trust me I’ll never be upset to hear from these guys.  However what makes this different is, once again, this veil of darkness over everything here seemingly.  The vocals on “Ridin’ On” are some of the most twisted things I’ve heard all year.  They’re distorted beyond belief, and you’re forced to constantly try and make out a single word of what The Men are remotely getting at.  It’s bizarre, but it honestly sounds like Devil Music, or what I would expect that to sound like at least.  Some of the performances on “Ridin’ On” come off like a damn cult is performing, but that doesn’t stop it from being melodic when it needs to be, making for a really intense performance.  “Hit The Ground” once again shows The Men getting into some seriously bluesy stuff, and that harmonica in the background seriously makes it even more memorable.  However, the production here is seriously starting to get to me.  Trust me, I enjoy The Men when they’re at their grimiest, but some of these tracks are just way too muddy for me to even enjoy.  It gets to the point where the solos here are actually being masked by the sheer amount of distortion.  All of that being said, I still think The Men are slowly getting back on track.


Starting off the album’s last few tracks is the album’s title track, “Devil Music”.  It’s a short acoustic instrumental, but I think it does a lot here for The Men.  While it’s an acoustic track, I can’t shake but seriously get some ominous vibes from it.  Listening to this, I feel like I’m sitting in an old time saloon and a mysterious drifter just walked in, and no one can tell what his intentions are.  It’s a short track, but it certainly takes me back to the simpler times of The Men, listening to their “Campfire Songs” EP and such.   Up next, “Gun” shows The Men getting back to their bluesier sounds, and my God is it awesome.  The steady groove here and those distant guitars absolutely bleed emotion, for fans of The Men’s more country sounding material, check this out ASAP.  While tracks like this make it sound like The Men have gone Low-Fi on us, all of the elements that made them one of Indie’s fastest rising stars are right there.  “Gun” however isn’t as dark as other tracks here, this one on the other hand is overwhelmingly sad.  The vocal performance here just sounds so absolutely exhausted, sounding like they barely have any will to go on.  Even the backing vocals here are so drained.  “Gun” overall is absolutely stunning, The Men seriously need to clean up their production and go for a more somber Americana album and I’m 100% sold.  Finally we have “Fire”, which has a slow start, borderline a sludge metal feel.  Once again, these vocals sound absolutely exhausted, which goes great with the slow burning feel of this track.  “Fire” eventually straightens up into a more noisy track from The Men which is ok.  Personally, I DO like when The Men get all noisy on us, but I feel like the bluesier sounds they’ve been testing the waters with are seriously the way to go.  “Fire” is far from bad though, and as far as a performance goes it’s one of the most passionate here.  Also, things really quickly on this one have taken a HUGE step in the darker direction.  We went from bluesy, somber Americana tracks to The Men screaming about “moving into the fire” and “giving in to desires”.  It’s a powerful ending, not the most memorable track here, but The Men are definitely cooking here.


Rating: 7.3/10

Give A Listen To: “Dreamer”, “Ridin’ On”, “Patterns”, “Gun”


Overall Thoughts:  Well this certainly is the loudest thing we've heard from The Men probably ever.  While it gets just a little too muddy from time to time, I think this is going to bring back a ton of fans that The Men have lost in the last year or so.   Also, here we see The Men drifting off into some serious new realms of blues and a more somber Americana than their used to.  "Devil Music" is far from perfect, but it shows The Men moving in the right direction.

Metallica - "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct"

Metallica is.....well c'mon dude, their Metallica.  One of the longest running and most successful metal bands ever.  Their output in the 80's practically invented the Thrash Metal genre with album's like "Kill Em' All", "Ride The Lightning" (My favorite Metallica album), and "Master Of Puppets".  By the time we hit the late 80's and early 90's though, Metallica was clearly going for a new sound.  "...And Justice For All" showed the band going in a more progressive direction (I'm not a fan of it, I'm super picky when it comes to Progressive Metal), and attempting a more cleanly produced Metal sound on their gloomy, classic self titled album (An album I feel a lot of people under-appreciate, however I never.....want to hear "Nothing Else Matters" ever again).  As far as the rest of the 90's went, Metallica absolutely went through some dark times.  "Load" is painful to listen to, with James Hetfield's vocals going from aggressive and monstrous to borderline obnoxious.  Kirk Hammett's guitar solo's became less pronounced and more run-of-the-mill.  Not to mention it took like 5 years to record "Load", what in the hell were they doing that entire time?!  "Reload" which was released shortly after wasn't necessarily any better, but it did have a few passable singles.  But even those singles on "Load" and "Reload" didn't have nearly as much punch as their early classics, however I am partial to "Fuel" (Don't be judging).  However, "Load" and "Reload" we're nothing, and i seriously mean NOTHING compare to the mess that is "St. Anger".  Yes, everybody and their mother can make jokes about how bad "St. Anger" really is.  But you really have no idea until you sit and listen to it do you realize just how un-listenable the material on there really is.  It would be quite a few years before Metallica once again graced the studios for their follow-up, "Death Magnetic".  Now honestly, I think over the years "Death Magnetic" has gotten a bad reputation, it's not THAT bad of an album, and it's certainly more listenable than their 90's and early 2000's output.  That being said though, "The Day That Never Comes" is the epitome of what's made Metallica so cringe-worthy in their later years, and NOBODY wanted "The Unforgiven III".  So that brings us to 2016, and going into this album here, I didn't know what to expect.  Was it going to be the decent Metal album I've been waiting for years to hear Metallica come out with?  Or was it going to be another desperate, mid life crisis fueled metal disaster by one of Metal's most respected acts.  Well lets find out shall we!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg92QpjRcJk

(Let's get that blood pumpin')

Lets get this bad boy started.   This album starts off with “Hardwired”, and I gotta really give it to that opening instrumental.  Ten seconds into the album and we’re already dealing with some of the heaviest material we’ve heard from Metallica since I can remember.  Ok ok, so maybe not the heaviest or the loudest, but the this is the truest Metallica has sounded to themselves.  They seriously sound completely unhinged here, hell I would even say this is the closest thing to a thrash metal sound I’ve heard since the 80’s from them.  Kirk’s riff is solid, and Lars’s drums are some of his most pronounced in quite some time.  But most importantly, all the members of Metallica here sound all on the same page.  When the main riff of the song speeds up, nothing comes off really sloppy.  When James Hetfield’s vocals come in, to be honest they sound damn near monstrous, when was the last time anyone has thought that?  He sounds a whole lot younger too, delivering urgent vocal performances, angry ones at that.  No, this isn’t your Mama’s Metallica, far from it.  But at THIS stage in their career, tracks like these are freakin solid man.  Kirk’s solo here is actually really solid, I mean clearly he’s done crazier, but this is still really legit.  Not to mention, that one last verse of "Once upon A planet burning, Once upon a flame, once  upon a fear returning all in vain" is absolutely intense.  Hell, "Hardwired" has a few moments that seriously feel like Metallica may go off the rails completely, which is honestly what I want to hear.  Well done.  Next up is "Atlas, Rise!", which doesn't waste a single second of anyone's time to bring in another straightforward riff.  For the most part, Metallica continue to sound like everyone is on the same page.  James's delivery remains fierce and energetic, he doesn't sound like he's really planning on slowing down either.  Not to mention, oddly enough that hook seriously encompasses everything that was  really great about the 80's and Metallica, yep I said it.  The verses here continue on being just as pummeling, personally I would have liked to hear Kirk's solo more at the forefront, but that's OK.  At times, it's more on the tame side, but Kirk's later solo really livens up everything.  "Atlas, Rise!" continues to be really solid, just you know, don't expect to be getting off without dealing with any Metal cliche's.  The album hits it's first massive bump in the road with "Now That We're Dead".  Instantly, Metallica jumps back to the constant chugging that dominated "Load" and "Reload".  Lars' drumming here comes off awkward here, never really sticking around like it should.  I understand the effect that they're going for here with the drumming and all, but it's just not coming off really well.  At it's best moments, "Now That We're Dead" comes off as a "Black Album" ripoff, one that's a little more upbeat.  It seriously though is doing almost nothing for me.  For one, that intro took way too long to get us where it was supposed to be taking us.  Trust me, if there's anyone and can appreciate decent buildup, it's me, but this literally goes nowhere!  But my biggest complaint comes in the form of James's vocals.  James, what the hell is going on here?  These vocals have seriously taken the sharpest of turns from aggressive to simply obnoxious.  To be honest, while I do dig the pre-chorus, the chorus itself is borderline not-listenable, hell it almost comes off as a super cheesy.....Megadeth chorus (Yea, I went there).  There are a few bright moments here and there, but overall it's completely flavorless.  and more or less this is just going down a road I don't want to see Metallica even touch.  Some of the instrumentals in the last minute or so are pretty intense though, so there's definitely SOME good happening here.   "Moth Into Flame" on the other hand is just the opposite.  The instrumentals immediately are anything but sluggish, and to be honest this sounds like a proper Metallica intro.  Every member here does exactly what you want to hear from them, leading up to actually a really intense riff.  Occasionally, "Moth Into Flame" drifts into the more technical side of metal, which I can already hear metal snobs getting a little angry with.  But I think it's a solid tune, and it's melodic just enough to seriously stick with you once it's over.  Lars is featured just as he should be to be honest, as the backbone of one of Metals finest acts.  Not to mention, while this track is seriously almost 6 minutes long, there's no fluff and not a second of it seems overblown.  It's moments like this that really make me thankful for Metallica.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBHL3v4d3I

We've reached the middle of the album, which honestly is probably the weakest section here.  Starting things off we have "Dream No More", with a nice beefy intro.  While that may not be for everyone, it's certainly more interesting than the "tinny" sounding "St. Anger".  This one just overall seriously irks me though.  There are so many tracks here that are seriously tasteful throwbacks to Metallica's 80's output.  Then we have tracks like "Dream No More" which sound like a rehashed "Black Album" sound.  But the biggest problem here lies in James Hetfield's vocal performance.  James's vocals here are literally the culmination of everything that has become truly cringe-worthy about Metallica in these later years.  Here, James doesn't sound like an animal, he sounds like himself.  And by that, I mean he sounds like an aging dude trying desperately to fit into the genre, it's not even close to .  Behind the constant chugging guitars, there's absolutely no soul or emotion behind this performance.  Hell, this doesn't even sound like them, this sounds like a band parodying Metallica, and THAT is when things get seriously bad.  And on top of that, I can assure you I can't take these lyrics seriously in the slightest bit.  James Hetfield these days looks like a soccer dad that may or may not kick your ass, and here he is screaming "Cthulhu Awaken" like he's an edgy 16 year old.  Simply put, I don't but it.  This isn't fierce, this isn't original, this is Metallica trying to fit in.  Even the solo's towards the end are just bland.  "Halo On Fire" for a few minutes get's things back on track.  From the intro though you seriously wouldn't know it at first, as it really sounds like more of the same honestly.  However, it's when things smooth out into a gloomy main riff that this track starts to turn around.  It goes from being weak to being one of the brightest moments here very quickly.  There's a real murkiness here, and while James's vocals still aren't what they used to be, here at least they sound like they belong.  Even though this is a slower track, it comes off at a good pace, it's overall a solid track.  While there are some seriously goofy and cringe-worthy tracks on here, there are tracks like "Halo On Fire" that show Metallica really staying true to their sound.  Yes, the lyrics here are so over the top it's not even funny, and you bet your sweet ass it's cheesy.  But there comes a time in metal music where when things get so over the top that things work.  Some of these murky passages remind me so much of their 80's output, at the very least instrumentally.  As far as the vocals go, yea I wish I could get a little more of a snarl, but I don't really think that I can expect that at this point in Metallica's career.  Even when things pick up, this is Metallica at their most confident.  "Halo On Fire" is the longest track here, and yea it has a slightly progressive edge, but it remains likable the whole way through.  On to disc 2!  "Confusion" starts the second disc off on a low note.  While the instrumental starts off sounding pretty straightforward, but as things move on this is seriously some of the more gimmicky material here.  Once again, this kinda sounds like a current metal band trying on their best Metallica impression.  I mean, when things straighten it does get a little more listenable, but this sounds so skill-less.  This isn't a thrash metal riff, not even close, it's not the worst riff I've ever heard, but it's just so meh.   When the lyrics come in, boy oh boy.  It's just one cringe-worthy line after another.  "All sanity is but a memory"?  How about no.  James is back to sounding more on the obnoxious side, and even worse, he sounds uncomfortable to be honest.  As the track goes on, the instrumental does get more interesting.  It's still tightly wound and completely by the books, but it's certainly not terrible.  But God these lyrics get worse and worse, every other word is "war" I feel like.  Newsflash Metallica, that's been done before, and even worse it's been done by YOU.  But not even at "Confusion"'s worst is it anywhere near as bad as "ManUNkind", oh boy.  Right from the intro to this one, we can tell that Metallica are back to their gloomy sound.  But here it seriously just sounds doom to be a big disappointment.  When things pick up, it's exactly as I feared.  The instrumental is seriously sloppy as hell, and the production which up to this point hasn't been that bad at all takes a huge nosedive here.  Metallica at this point are going for almost a groove metal sound, but everything is just so off kilter that it comes off sloppy.  And then we have these lyrics, again.  "I've become hostage to my mind"?  Not really James, not really.  They've once again seriously went from "tasteful throwback" to "literally everything that's bad about Metallica in 2016.  As "ManUNkind" continues, it get's even harder and harder to listen to.  The solo's towards the end are just plain awkward, they literally sound like they were copy and pasted from another Metallica track.  Metallica are slowly losing their grip on this comeback album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbxH5S9_A3M

Man who the hell decided this should be a double album, this thing is long as hell.  "Here Comes Revenge" starts off with, you guessed it, another muscular sounding riff.  This intro actually has a really nice bite to it, and the riff that comes out of it is definitely one I can sink my teeth into.  Here, Metallica really don't do anything at all to reinvent their sound.  They stay in their comfort zone, but just enough to do what they do best.  James here really sounds like he belongs, and while they're piled high with every cliche in the book, everything works nicely.  So no, this doesn't sound like any reincarnation, this doesn't sound out of place, this literally sounds like Metallica and where they should be in 2016.  "Am I Savage?" starts out by sounding like a legitimate flashback to "...And Justice For All".  The main riff when it drops is honestly really ugly to say the least.  And once again, we have Metallica going for a really awkward groove metal feel that I just don't feel like hearing from Metallica.  The vocals here aren't necessarily bad.  They're just seriously some of the most forgettable, bland performances here.  This album seriously needed to be trimmed, this could have easily been 10 times better if it was a respectable 8 track album (and it STILL would have been over an hour).  In the last two tracks here though, Metallica DO in fact leave on a high note.  Firstly, we have "Murder One".  Right from the intro of this, I absolutely get the chills.  This literally sounds like the long lost Metallica track we've all been searching for.  There aren't many thrash elements here, but everything else is a culmination of everything that was once so wonderful about Metallica.  The groove presented during the verse comes off as it's supposed to, and Hetfield sounds rejuvenated in his vocal performance (he almost sounds like he seriously could kick your ass).  Everything about "Murder One" makes for an amazing Metallica track, one that I seriously wouldn't mind coming back to at all.  Finally, we have "Spit Out The Bone", which seriously has a ridiculously nasty upbeat flair.  It's easily the most pummeling track here, I'm exhausted just listening to it.  Yes, the lyrics are cheesy as hell diving into robots and I don't even know what else, but at this point who cares, this is heavy as hell.  This album isn't going to be for everyone, but from Metallica at this point in their career, it's probably the best thing we can expect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46Z0-HXySo

Rating 6.8/10

Give A Listen To:  "Hardwired", "Moth Into Flame", "Spit Out The Bone", "Murder One"


Overall Thoughts:  You know, in a lot of ways this is seriously a huge improvement for Metallica.  They've been wallowing in "has-been" status for years, constantly pushing put cringe-worthy material.  While there is seriously oodles of cringe-worthy material here, there's also a lot of very tasteful throwbacks that even the most uptight Metallica fan can appreciate.  I still think this would have been so much better if it was trimmed a little more to a shorter album, but what can I say.  No, this album isn't perfect.  But fpr a band 35 years into their career, it's absolutely not terrible either.

Thee Oh Sees - "A Weird Entrances"

Thee Oh Sees are the psychedelic garage rock brainchild of mastermind John Dwyer.  Now I've been a huge fan of these guys for so long.  Not too shocking, I got into Thee Oh Sees around the same time that I discovered my love for acts like Ty Segall & The Black Lips.  However, like Ty, Thee Oh Sees have always had one problem in my book, too much freakin' material.  Personally, I would MUCH rather see an artist spend an extra 6 months with an album and really make it special.  Some of these California bases garage rockers are pumping out albums and side projects every 4 months, and the results are varied.  Thee Oh Sees are no exception.  While they've released some of my favorite garage rock albums ever like "The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending The Night In", the criminally underrated "Putrifiers II", and "Carrion Crawler/The Dream", albums like "Drop", "Floating Coffin", and "Mutilator Defeated At Last" were all GOOD, but had plenty of weak moments.  So when 3 months ago Thee Oh Sees released the VERY solid "A Weird Exits" album, I was pleased, I thought Thee Oh Sees were done for the year and leaving 2016 on a good note.  Not only that, but John Dwyer seemed like he had reached a creative peak I hadn't seen him on in years.  3 months later though, here we are with another release, "A Weird Entrances".  However, I did have some high hopes for this, as this is apparently a companion piece to "A Weird Exits", and was recorded in the same sessions.  So let's chat about this new Oh Sees record, shall we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agZqIr37rmE

(From Thee Oh Sees "A Weird Exits" earlier this year)


From the beginning guitar line of the opening track, “You Will Find It Here”, you can really tell that a lot of the material here is going to have the same sort of feel to it as Thee Oh Sees previous outing.  The guitars are bold and clearly are going for that same sci-fi feel to it, and there’s enough distortion to make even the pickiest Oh Sees fan brighten up a bit.  The rest of this intro is, a little on the disappointing side to be honest.  This is more of a jam than anything, and if you’ve seen Thee Oh Sees live than you know that they can surely jam.  But I have the same problem with “You Will Find It Here” that I did with a lot of the material on Thee Oh Sees “A Weird Exits”, clearly this would be better to experience in a live setting.   A track like this was made to be improvised live.  In a studio setting, this just comes off as a bit unfocused for Thee Oh Sees.  However, “You Will Find It Here” does have it’s moments.  For one, it has some really intense drum passages that I can’t get enough of, and they certainly still have the atmosphere down.   But the vocals on this one don’t come in for over half the song, and until then it’s just a jam, which certainly isn’t bad but it’s just not what I want to hear from Thee Oh Sees.  When everyone stops messing around and “You Will Find It Here” turns into a classic Oh Sees sounding track, it’s actually quite good.  That hypnotic guitar riff reminds me of their earlier studio recordings like “The Masters Bedroom…”, while the more clean production reminds us clearly this is from the same recording sessions as “A Weird Exits”.  This one continues to have a Sci-Fi feel and all, but it’s a very grand Sci-Fi feel, and very epic.  Not to mention, when those group vocals come in they do absolute wonders for the atmosphere here, seriously adding in some great tension, a distant feeling of oncoming dread,  and once again giving me flashbacks to their “Masters Bedroom….” days.  But all of this gets me wondering, was that prolonged intro really worth it?  If they ended up shaving that down a bit, this would have been a classic Oh Sees track through and through.  Now, similarly to “A Weird Exits”, there are going to be some old school Oh Sees fans that find tracks like “You Will Find It Here” to be tame, and trust me, it pretty much is.  However, it’s got a great atmosphere, one seriously worth digging into.  Next up is “The Poem”, the earliest released track from this companion album, and a track that listening to it really made me question what “A Weird Entrances” is all about.  From the opening guitar notes, this is by far the most serene and peaceful Oh Sees track I’ve ever heard. That statement alone is bizarre for me to even write, as I’m used to Thee Oh Sees’ brand of garage rock dripping in reverb and heavy psychedelic imagery.  It’s almost a little too peaceful though, and for me, this brings up a major problem I have with every single track on this album.  While a lot of these tracks are good, they would have been so much better in the narrative of the album.  What made “A Weird Exits” so enjoyable was it’s narrative.  It all felt so concise, a lot of the tracks flowed together and made for what sounded like the soundtrack to an over the top, B-List Sci-Fi movie.  On their own, they would have been ok, but together they sounded so good.  On this album, and on tracks like “The Poem”, there’s a lot of good stuff going on.  But knowing this is a companion piece, I’m dying to know if it fits into the narrative, and where, and what does it even mean?  I would have loved this track to lead up to the finale of “A Weird Exits”, HELL I would have love for this to BE the finale of “A Weird Exits”.  “The Poem” is pleasant, and it’s an interesting break from the usual Psychedelic onslaught of Thee Oh Sees, but it demands to be held amongst the same narrative as “A Weird Exits”.  On a separate note though, it IS interesting to hear Thee Oh Sees borrow from seemingly new influences, as they give up their usual straight up Psyche-Rock sound for a more classic, almost British Invasion sound.  “Jammed Exit”’s intro gives away that were going to be up against yet another instrumental jam.  Once again, I like just a little more structure from Thee Oh Sees for my preference, but “Jammed Exit” DOES have a lot of really fantastic things going for it.  The synth here is ridiculously corny and completely over the top.  But that’s literally exactly what I loved about “A Weird Exits”, just how ridiculous it was.  The flute that comes in is an entirely different story, it’s such a classy sounding flute that really lightens up the mood a bit.  When Thee Oh Sees were saying that the material here is from the same recording sessions as "A Weird Exits”, they clearly weren’t fibbing.  While this is still much cleaner production, Thee Oh Sees still to this day haven’t really lost their edge and continue to really nail these atmosphere’s they keep going for.  While “Jammed Exit” remains a jam, I enjoy it thoroughly.  But once again, I find myself dying to know where it would have fit in the narrative of “A Weird Exits”.  Also, their earlier albums have been so chaotic , for an instrumental I was expecting a little something more down that road, cause this is damn near hopeful sounding.  I digress though, “Jammed Exit” remains interesting the whole way through, as it constantly seems to be evolving as an instrumental.  It’s not going to be for everyone, and it certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s solid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSGRBpafry8

Next up is “At The End, On The Stairs” which starts off with a little groove.  And I know what you’re thinking, that certainly doesn’t really fit in with everything else.  And you’re absolutely right, it really doesn’t.  And because those almost peppy instrumentals, I can assure you the lyrics here are just as sunny and out of place.  Of all the tracks here, this clearly feels the most out of place.  Not only does it sound like it wasn’t recorded for this album, it doesn’t even sound like it was recorded by this incarnation of Thee Oh Sees.   There are a few classy guitar licks later on that are ear grabbing, and there is certainly plenty of that bizarre imagery that Thee Oh Sees are known for as well.  In a lot of ways, At The End, On The Stairs” is adorable.  And I mean that in the worst way imaginable.  It sticks out like if a puppy was placed in that last scene of The Evil Dead where Ash burns the Necronomicon (what a great scene).  Yea, it’s sweet and all, but what the hell is “At The End, On The Stairs”  doing here?!  It has a very sunshiny, Psych Pop feel that you would think Thee Oh Sees would nail, and it’s usually stuff I love as well.  But “At The End, On The Stairs” is certainly not for me.  And once again, in reference to the narrative, why is this here?! What is its purpose?!?  I have way too many questions about this for an Oh Sees album.  On “Unwrap The Fiend Pt.1” however, instantly there’s a fantastic guitar sound I can freely embrace.  Once again though, this really doesn’t sound like this current incarnation of Thee Oh Sees, which is kind’ve strange.  But at least you can actually tell this is them with all of the distortion, fuzz, and noise (Which at the end of the day is really what we came to see).  “Unwrap The Fiend Pt.1” is all about the guitars, which is something that I honestly haven’t said in ages about Thee Oh Sees.  While this one still has a fine atmosphere, it’s not too dominant, it’s just enough to help us sit back and seriously enjoy these instrumentals.  There’s also a killer groove on this one, something else I’m really not used to when it comes to Thee Oh Sees.  That being said though, it works well, but what’s with all of these instrumentals?  3 of these tracks are completely instrumental, with a 4th being mostly as well.  But while I usually don’t really care for their jams, “Unwrap The Fiend Pt.1” has structure and a common theme, and comes off pretty well.  The final piece here is “Nervous Tech (Nah John)” which brings back in that atmosphere in a big big way.  There’s almost a minimal feel to this one, with these ominous jingling bells in the distance and once again some really intense drum passages.  The guitars here while they don’t sound exactly PRETTY, they seriously sound like they’re in some legitimate pain.  Everything about “Nervous Tech (Nah John)” is incredibly subtle, and in this sort of black atmosphere Thee Oh Sees have created you seriously never know what instrumental is going to pop out and freak the hell out of you.  You don’t know what sound you’re going to hear next, or how loud it’s going to be, if it’s going to be clean or distorted, in that respect this is pretty exciting.  “Nervous Tech (Nah John)” overall isn’t the greatest thing ever, but it’s a really solid drum track overall, and these are some of the grizzliest guitars I’ve heard from them in years. While most of these tracks would seriously come to life within a narrative, this is still an OK companion piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8tLmhhbPc4


Give A Listen To - "You Will Find It Here", "The Poem", "Jammed Exit", "Unwrap The Fiend, PT. 1"

Rating : 7.1/10

Overall Thoughts:  If you go into this album taking it as it's supposed to be, a companion work to the earlier "A Weird Exits" project, you'll be just fine with these songs.  For the most part, the material here has a whole lot of the same atmosphere as it's predecessor, and they DO for the most part sound like they were recorded in the same sessions.  That all being said, if you dug "A Weird Exits" you'll PROBABLY dig a lot here.  However, some of these tracks just seem like they would have fit so much better actually ON "A Weird Exits" and not just lingering around to go on some mini-album months later, that's my only real issue with this.  

Sad13 - "Slugger"

Sad13 is the side project of Speedy Ortiz vocalist Sadie Dupuis.  For years, I've been told by people I know "Oh goshhhh Speedy Ortiz is incredible", and when I first heard their first few EP's like "Sports", I actually agreed.  I saw a huge amount of promise in Speedy Ortiz at the time, I thought they had a super fresh sound that didn't really sound like anything else at the time.  But then they came out with their debut album, "Major Arcana", and literally still to this day I can't listen to that album without falling asleep.  While I still enjoyed Sadie's vocals, the instrumentals were just so bland and faceless.  Speedy Ortiz over time were sounding more and more like a 90's grunge revivalist act, but not even a flattering one.  Upon their next release, "Foil Deer", I enjoyed the fact that Speedy Ortiz were pumping up the volume a bit.  The tracks there were a little heavier and did have some more attitude, but I still was far from a fan.  Through it all though, I still enjoyed Sadie's passionate vocal performances, so I was rather interested to hear her solo debut, "Slugger".

“Slugger” starts out with “<2”, which yes is supposed to look like a heart, and yes the lyrics here are downright adorable.  But I’m getting ahead of myself, “<2” starts off with an icy cold synth line surrounded by an almost murky atmosphere.  Now, for someone whose always been on the fence big time when it comes to Speedy Ortiz, hearing this new, more electronic sound is super refreshing.  I almost would go as far as to say this sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to some 80’s CyberPunk movie.  As far as Sadie herself goes, her performance here is solid, and this is already more of a standout for me than anything on Speedy Ortiz’s first two albums.  Her lyrics here are clever, as she constantly brings up that she’s “in less than 2 with you”, I wish I coulda come up with that line, seriously.  However, what’s really helping me the most is just how much this IS The Sadie Dupuis show.  While I’ve never really GOT Speedy Ortiz, I always thought Sadie herself was a dynamic front woman and a great performer.  Here, were getting her completely unfiltered with no distractions.  When it always came down to it, I always got distracted by Speedy Ortiz’s nauseating amount of 90’s worship, but here I’m free to enjoy Sadie’s music.  As electronic “<2” gets, it never gets cheesy, it doesn’t come off as goofy at all, it comes off really smooth.  Not to mention for all you diehard Speedy Ortiz fans there ARE plenty of live instrumentations in there to fill your void.  “<2” is a really solid start for Sad13.  But the quality of this album instantly takes a huge nosedive with “The Sting”.  Instantly were greeted by a much more abstract and difficult to pinpoint instrumental.  Sadie still sounds solid, but everything else just seriously isn’t nearly as ear grabbing.  This one just sounds too much like it’s trying to be so edgy and experimental sounding, when in reality it’s seriously just kinda sloppy.  However, all hope isn’t lost, because Sadie in all this confusion brings together a seriously wonderful chorus.  It almost sounds like an old school vintage pop melody over all these quirky keyboards, it’s seriously really likable.  The verses though throughout really don’t hook me at all sadly.  Overall though, Sadie still sounds totally comfortable on her own.  At the very least later tracks like “Line Up” are more straightforward.  The riff on this one is much more flattering to Sadie’s performance, and as far as a chaotic sort of rock track this is easily the most energizing track here.  There are some electronic bits that have stuck around however, they end up making this track a whole lot more explosive actually.  As far as Sadie’s performance goes though, this isn’t my favorite of hers here.  It’s an alright performance and all, but here Sadie is constantly battling and clashing up against the more explosive instrumental, and while there are parts that are genuinely exciting, most of it is just ugly.  Not to mention, to be perfectly honest I’m much more interested in her.  So no, it’s not terrible, it’s just not what I want to hear.  This album in a sense is all over the place, with Sadie seriously going for so many different kinda sounds.  One thing is for sure though, these chorus’s are absolutely adorable as anything.  On “Just A Friend”, Sadie goes for a bit of 90’s pop revivalism.  However, this actually works really well, more than anything Speedy Ortiz has gone for at least.  It’s smooth, it’s adorable as anything, and Sadie is right at the front where she seriously needs to be.  The jolly synths aren’t clashing with anything at all, they’re just sort of chilling by her side.  Here, Sadie is just being herself, and it’s just a really sweet, telling pop song, and nothing more. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG_isB2_APw

There’s a little retro vibe on a whole lot of tracks on here, take for example “Get A Yes”, which instantly gives me a Blondie vibe.  Sadie’s performance here is a heartfelt one, there are no tricks or anything even close.  The instrumental here is one of the album’s more electronically tinged ones, however, this one doesn’t come off as synthetic.  “Get A Yes” also has a super great groove on this one, which honestly wasn’t was I was expecting from Sadie at all.  Then again, I seriously didn’t know what to expect on any of this album at all.  That being said though, there’s a lot on here that I don’t really know how fans of Sadie are going to react to.  I mean this is a straight up, sugary sweet pop track.  She pulls it off so wonderfully with her own unique swagger though.  Later on, “Tell U What” once again has a super slick beat with a huge retro feel.  The lumbering pianos, the subtle synth notes, they all go wonderfully with Sadie’s performance.  Overall, “Tell U What” is just a fantastic pop tune.  Not to mention, were dealing with some seriously deep lyrics here, with Sadie diving into lyrics about abuse.  It comes off really personal though, and I gotta commend Sadie for writing such a personal track, and such a well written one at that.  But as compelling as a lot of these tracks are, there are still plenty of really odd, weak moments as well.  “Fixina” has a lot going for it, but the instrumental is just a little too off kilter for my liking.  In more ways than one, this is a pop record we’re dealing with, and a lot of these tracks occasionally forget that.  “Fixina” occasionally comes off as a more dream pop track which works wonders, And it’s a shame, because lyrically this is just on point as Sadie’s other tracks here.  But other moments on this track just go back to the massive 90’s worship that has underwhelmed me for years.  However, “Fixina” in the last 40 seconds or so DOES straighten up and become more enjoyable.  It’s not terrible, there are likable elements, but I can’t say the same thing about “Devil In U”.   By the time this track rolls around, I was totally comfortable with this being a pop album.  “Devil In U” is a hard left turn, and has a very straight forward rock feel, it’s borderline psychedelic, but very dark nonetheless.  It’s not terrible, but my problem is that Sadie seriously proved that she can really nail a more pop sound, so why even go for this much more mediocre sound.  Lyrically, it’s just as solid as other tracks here, but instrumentally this is head scratching.  Once again, things DO pick up in the last minute or so, but by that point there’s been so much bizarre material on this one that it’s just too late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd94YUSWplo

Sadie rounds her solo project’s debut just as all over the place as it started.  First off we have “Krampus (In Love)”.  At first, I had a really great feeling from that deep, murky intro that was just so unsettling.  But what follows are some of the most bizarre moments we’ve heard yet.  Sadie here clearly is going for a sort of dark, twisted Christmas carol, but it’s just so damn boring.  There is a groove here, but it’s so bizarre and forced that it just comes off miniscule.  Sadie pairs that with truly bizarre Christmas references that she’s shoving down are throats, it’s a bizarre track and I seriously don’t know what she was even thinking.  “Hype” on the other hand is one of the most solid tracks on the entire album.  The song starts off with these glitzy, spacey guitar lines instantly grabbing your ear, especially after whatever the hell that last track was.  Now here, we do see a few Speedy Ortiz elements here.  But it’s just enough to give Ortiz fans a nod, it doesn’t become suffocating and this is still all about Sadie. The chorus has a little attitude to it which comes off great, and the jolly sounding descending guitar lines add just a little extra punch.  Very solid.  Then we have the album’s finale, “Coming Into Powers”, which right away a return to that thick electronic sound.  But on this one, Sadie herself is even going for a more pop tone, and it comes off super bouncy and fun.  The guitar line in the background slick and gives this track just enough of an edge to it.  But then there’s this semi-rap verse by Sammus, who I’ll be honest have no clue who the hell that is.  All her rap verse does here is bring everything else here into a much cornier realm.  The rest of the track though is pretty solid though, if it wasn’t for that verse from Sammus this would all be pretty damn good.  Overall though, I seriously can’t really complain that much about this album, it’s a whole lot better than I was expecting.  

Rating: 7.1/10

Give A Listen To: “<2”, "Get A Yes".  “Hype”, “Tell U What”

Overall Thoughts:  I went into this not really knowing what to expect from Sadie.  Being mostly underwhelmed by Speedy Ortiz for years, I literally thought this was going to be more of the same.  To be honest though, this is a pretty solid release from Sad13.  It's far from perfect, but for the most part it's what I wanted to hear, and that's Sadie being the star of the show and in an environment where she can write catchy, personal pop songs.  Honestly, I'm most interested to see what effect has on Speedy Ortiz in the future, cheers!

A Tribe Called Quest - "We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service"

So let's just get the obvious out of the way, A Tribe Called Quest are one of the most influential Hip Hop acts to ever grace the stage.  Growing up, I was absolutely fascinated by the combination of Jazz and Hip Hop, so stumbling upon A Tribe Called Quest in my later years was one of the most wonderful discoveries imaginable.  In their first few years together, they were seriously unstoppable, releasing classic album after classic album.  "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" was a playful yet skillful introduction from the group, but by the time "The Low End Theory" (my personal favorite) rolled around A Tribe Called Quest were at the top of their game.  Their sometimes quirky, entertaining verses oozed personality.  "Midnight Marauders" was a little edgier sounding, but just as skillful and featured all the same elements.  It also seriously cemented them in Hip Hop history as a landmark act.  But by the end of the 90's they seemed like they were slowly running out of ideas.  As far as their next album "Beats, Rhymes, and Life" goes, it was just OK.  It was certainly still a solid hip hop release, but man did it lack some of the personality of their earlier work.  "The Love Movement" was an improvement and had a whole lot better production, but still, A Tribe Called Quest had released so much solid work so far I felt like they needed a break.  However, I honestly didn't think 18 years of a break though was needed!  Hell I didn't even think I would hear another Tribe Called Quest album in my lifetime.  But nonetheless, before Phife Dawg's tragic passing earlier this year, the wheels were already turning for a new release. So here we are, all of these years later with the first Tribe Called Quest album in 18 years, "We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZWS6CITutY

(The first time I heard this, I was floored)

The album starts off with “The Space Program”, and between the opening samples and mantra of “Lets get it together”, we’re seriously dealing with some ridiculous material right off the bat.  Hearing that jazzy little keyboard float through the background immediately throws me back to the first time I ever heard A Tribe Called Quest.  As each member rolls in with their verse here, you have to admit they seriously all sound immediately rejuvenated, those 18 years of a break up really did wonder for them creatively.  It literally sounds like they all took an 18 year hibernation, woke up, and are seriously ready to get things done.  The flows here are absolutely ridiculous, with not a single member sounding like they’ve slacked off even the slightest bit.  Not to mention, every verse is coming at you rapid fire, as if Tribe are seriously trying to make up for lost time, and it seriously works magnificently.  The chorus on “The Space Program” is spacey as hell (no pun intended), and the sampling of Vincent Price laughing from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video adds this real sense of insanity.  It’s completely out of the box, but honestly it’s exactly where it needs to be.  Also, there’s a real sense of unity here, which is something I haven’t heard recently, and it’s darn refreshing.  But at the end of the day, what “The Space Program” really shows us is how the world is falling apart, and we seriously do need to “Get It Together”, that Willy Wonka sample at the end is all too telling.  “We The People…” is up next, which right off the bat has a much heavier beat but an equally heavy groove.  That synth line is seriously so thick that nothing can pierce through it, that is of course except for Q-Tip’s opening lyric of “We Don’t Believe You, Cause We The People”.  Everything about so many of these tracks revolve around just how focused A Tribe Called Quest Sound.  A lot has really changed in the world since the last time A Tribe Called Quest were really on the scene, and throughout these tracks you’ll realize that Tribe feel like a lot of those changes are seriously not for the better. On “We The People…”, there are these vibrant, almost too real depictions of discrimination.  All of these years later, and Tribe still deliver exactly what we need to hear.  There are no tricks, no gimmicks, just 18 years of delivery that Tribe have been waiting for to give to us.  And boy does it pay off.  Up next is “Whateva Will Be”.  While every verse here is the colorful, personality drenched hip hop I’ve been craving, A Tribe Called Quest have seriously found a sense of urgency in their delivery, a real fire.  I should have expected it, but I didn’t, and it’s a real treat.  Like I said earlier, the last time we heard Quest they sounded a little like they were running losing just a bit of focus.  But each member throughout these tracks on “We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service” sound nothing short of completely focused.  The sample here floating through the background has such an odd beauty to it, and the beat here is smooth, yet bouncy when it needs to be.  “Whateva Will Be” as a whole is fantastic, and definitely ear grabbing, as Tribe continue to not waste a single second when it comes to their comeback.  “Solid Wall of Sound” is dominated by an Elton John sample from “Bennie & The Jets”, which is more than I expected, but it works wonderfully.  “Solid Wall of Sound” is easily the most hypnotic track on here, but it still remains easy on the ears and easy to dive into.  Now, Busta Rhymes, while he’s far from a favorite MC of mine, has always had an undeniable chemistry with A Tribe Called Quest.  Whenever Busta and Tribe are on the same track together, I seriously always have to just sit and listen, and I'm often super impressed.  “Solid Wall of Sound” is no different, Busta’s verse here sounds truly necessary to the formula here.  Then we have the switch late in the track from an Elton John sample to live Elton John vocals which is seriously done expertly.  This album is just wonderful.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAoqWu6wmfI

The beat that starts of “Dis Generation” is something really special, hell it almost comes off as a J Dilla beat. The production on this track is absolutely pristine, but I mean that in the best way.  Hearing each member of Tribe here really just makes me sit back and take a deep breath with each passing verse.  There’s just so much legendary talent right here in front of us, it’s awe-inspiring.   After all of these years, these are still some of the most personality filled, colorful hip hop verses I’ve heard this year, and the chemistry between them is perfect which really goes without saying.  There are also these ridiculous lines here and there that seriously make you take a step back, that one about “Day of The Dead, Bury the zombies instead” really stands out.  But the biggest shocker here is just how relevant everything is.  A Tribe Called Quest sound just as significant as they did in the early 90’s, in every sense this is THE way to make a comeback album.  It’s not cheesy.  It’s not Tribe Called Quest trying desperately to relive their youth.  It simply just works in every aspect.  Some of the back and forth vocals between Tribe and the returning Busta Rhymes are truly chilling.  I seriously couldn’t have asked for more from tracks like this.  Up next on “Kids”, we start off with a verse from Outkast’s Andre 3000, who honestly we’ve heard A LOT from this year, and trust me I’m glad. The beat on “Kids” doesn’t instantaneously grab me like other tracks on here have so far.  Andre sounds fantastic and frantic as always though, just about every feature on here does though. The chorus on “Kids” is where all the magic happens however.  Seriously this chorus is ridiculous, and is easily one of the most heated, intense moments here with the constantly screamed “Kids, Don’t you know how all this shit is fantasy?”.  If I were more into this beat, this track would have been near perfect, but it’s still just as urgent and above average as other tracks here.  Up next we have the sensational “Melatonin”.  Let me just say, whenever I usually hear any sort of rap tune that has anything to do with an acoustic guitar, I’m usually heading for the hills ASAP.  However, the funky guitar licks circling on “Melatonin” are genuinely soulful, and make for a very tasteful throwback sound.  This is by far one of the funkiest tracks here, matched up against the colorfully animated verses, I feel like I’m watching a drawing come to life as I’m listening.  A Tribe Called Quest continue to sound completely rejuvenated and full of life, and just as urgent as they started off sounding on this album.  The first disc of the album ends off with, I don’t want to say boring, but slightly less interesting tracks here.  “Enough!!!” has a slick, jazzy beat that I enjoy and all, but it’s a little hard to follow.  While other beats here clearly have their own distinct personality, this one sounds constantly changing.  Lyrically, it’s solid, and the samples are really sharp.  But as far as the beat goes, I just can’t sink my teeth into it.  It certainly isn’t bad though.  

“Mobius” starts off disc 2, with a smooth beat and even smoother guitars floating through the background.  New fans of Tribe and old fans too are going to really be able to sink their teeth into so much here, not only do Tribe continue to sound relevant as ever, there is a serious old school rap tone to all of this.  It’s all done in a very classy, respectful way though.  The beat here is so thick and hazy you can cut it with a knife.  Busta Rhymes is back, and seriously I love how this album is single handily reinvigorating his career, he continues to sound great.  And for the most part this is just a solo Busta track, but that’s fine, it’s really enjoyable.  As far as Q-Tips’ verses go throughout "We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service", he doesn’t waste a single breath the entire album, he knows damn well this is Tribe’s last outing.  “Black Spasmodic” right from the intro has a super fun groove on it.  This track as a whole literally sounds like any classic Tribe Called Quest song .  Name any classic Tribe song, “Black Spasmodic” probably sounds like it at some point.  The back and forth verses between Q-Tip and the late Phife Dawg seriously bring me back, it’s the same magic that we saw on classics like “The Low End Theory” unfolding once again right before our eyes.  “Black Spasmodic” even has a little reggae vibe here and there, but it absolutely fits in.  While so many tracks on “We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service” deal with a lot of the same topics, they all seem to have a slightly different flavor to them, which makes the album just such an enjoyable experience overall.  Not to mention, so many of these tracks here are under 3 minutes, so none of them overstay their welcome.  “The Killing Season” gives us the most quirky, left of the dial beat we’ve heard so far.  It goes without saying, but Tribe have done so much in their career that they aren’t playing to anyone, and they’re going to use whatever damn beat they please.  The intro verse here is a guest verse from the one and only Talib Kweli, who I honestly haven’t listened to a project of in freakin years (However, “Quality” is a stone cold classic in the alternative rap genre, I still have the CD in my car).  His verse here however is freakin’ NASTY.  He honestly sounds just as agitated and on edge as he did so many years ago, I freakin love it.  And what do you know, that’s Friend Of The World Kanye West on the hook, honestly I would have like to maybe hear a little more from him than just a hook, but who am I to complain, Consequence’s verse is pretty solid as well.  Overall it may be a little overwhelming just how politically charged a lot of this album is, but if you can stomach it, you’re going to be amazed by how little filler material there is here.  When it comes to “Lost Somebody”, I really didn’t know what to expect from that opening beat.  But when everything opens up, it quickly becomes one of the sleekest, coolest sounding tracks here.  There are just so many sweet sounding guitar licks placed here and there,  and Q-Tips verse just flows over everything so majestically.  Sometimes their skill is just so overwhelming, you literally have to stop these tracks and take a deep breath.  The sung hook here by Katia Cadet brings in the real sorrow in this track however.    Not to mention, knowing that Phife Dawg passed away after recording his verses makes this track that much more powerful.  However, it is to be noted that however dreary this track is, it’s also very hopeful as they assure us Phife is “Alright now” and is “in sunshine now”.  

Boy, this is a freakin’ long album, but it’s a good one to say the least.  We got a few more tracks to chat about, so lets continue.  “Movin Backwards” is up next, with one hell of a funky, almost J Dilla (again) sounding beat.  The instrumentals throughout so much of this album seriously don’t miss a beat, and the backing harmonies here add so much.  Now let’s talk about Anderson .Paak’s guest verse here.  Honestly?  I think the dude get’s better every time I hear him.  Throughout the years, with every project I hear him on, he sounds more and more solid.  On “Movin Backwards”, in a lot of ways he’s the star.  I’d even go as far as to say that this is A Tribe Called Quest’s way of passing a sort of torch to him.  Not to mention, it’s nice to hear that ofr the most part that theme of unity has stuck around even though the dark subject matter that graces these tracks hasn’t let up.  While “Movin Backwards” has a funky beat and shows Tribe passing the torch to Anderson .Paak, “Conrad Tokyo” has a slick synth driven beat and shows Tribe passing the torch to the one and only Kendrick Lamar.  Like I said, the beat here is synth driven and on the futuristic side.  But it doesn’t come off as cheesy, it comes off as really sleek and genuinely cool.  The verses continue to be fiery, with the late Phife Dawg claiming “this country is already ruined” before going into another politically charged verse.  When Kendrick comes in, it’s a whole different ball game.  I mean simply put, Kendrick is freakin’ amazing.  Every verse he hops on, he’s always so defiant, so dominant, so in your face, it’s ridiculous.  Everything about “Conrad Tokyo” while it may be futuristic and heavy on the electronics, is also very hip.  “Ego” ditches the electronic feel though and goes for a much more classic jazz feel.  That intro bass line is one of the jazziest things your going to find on the album, and the way it’s just constantly creeping and getting louder is just done so well.  While at first I was a little underwhelmed by the instrumental and by Q-Tip’s verse, everything about “Ego” blossoms wonderfully and the rest is all gravy man.  Not to mention, those guitar lines from Jack White here are really solid.  Plus, I heard that Jack White got involved with this album after asking A Tribe Called Quest if he could perform “Excursions” live, which is freakin’ awesome.  I really don’t have that much more to say about “Ego”, it’s really well done.   And finally, we have the album’s finale, “The Donald”.  The beat here sounds on the bulkier, heavier side, but it’s still coming off just as smooth.  Call it whatever you want, all I can say is, it’s an old school hip hop jam at heart.  Busta Rhymes is back, and his verse here is sadly underwhelming to be perfectly honest, which kinda sucks since his verse is in fact referencing Phife Dawg.  Phife’s verse is fantastic though, and a proper sendoff for a man who will truly be missed.  For an outro, this is everything I could have asked for.  

Rating: 8.9/10

Give A Listen To: “The Space Program”, “We The People….”, "Melatonin", "Lost Somebody"

Overall Thoughts:  If you're in the hip hop game and you just casually take 18 years off, and you come back and decide to make music again, you better home that album is half as good as this album.  A Tribe Called Quest on "We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service" show off every bit of personality they became famous for so may years ago, and end up making it sound just as relevant as you would hope.  The beats are slick, the features are well placed, and personality oozes from every track.  This is a must listen for anyone whose ever bene obsessed with A Tribe Called Quest, and is a true proper sendoff for one of hip hop's most legendary acts.  

Sleigh Bells - "Jessica Rabbit"

Sleigh Bells are a noisy, abrasive pop duo that I've always been on the fence on.  Their first album "Treats" I enjoyed overall, the clash between Derek Miller's noisy rock instrumentals bashing you in the face matched up with Alexis Krauss's sweet pop vocals just made for a really interesting album.  On the groups follow up, "Reign Of Terror", there was a lot that I really liked and a lot that I found a little boring and gimmicky.  The duo were clearly writing more anthemic instrumentals and were harsher sounding than ever, which I loved.  But at the same time, they were going for a much more pristine, glossy production.  I still enjoyed most of the album, but what made "Treats" so interesting was how chaotic it was, it constantly sounded in the moment to me.  Then we have "Bitter Rivals", the duo's embarrassing third album.  While there was a few tracks on there that I really dug, most of the album showed Krauss going for a more pop performance and more sugary lyrics.  There was nothing "in the moment", barely chaotic.  All of that slapped up against the noisy instrumentals didn't even come off as edgy, they came off as ugly.  So going into "Jessica Rabbit", I really didn't know what to expect.  From some, I heard this was a "true return to form for Sleigh Bells", well I sure hope so.
The album starts off with “It’s Just Us Now”, and from those opening guitar tones all I have to say is, oh how the mighty have fallen.  While yes, there is a little meat on that riff, it really doesn’t go that far.  Miller’s instrumentals here come off as predictable almost, which is absolutely the worst when it comes to noisy music like Sleigh Bells.  I want to be throw off every time I hear a blast, not expecting it from a mile away.  The main riff that shows it’s ugly face soon after really isn’t that much better.  Everything about this is just so clean and predictable, and that main riff sounds like something out of a radio pop single, which is what I was fearing the most.  Then we have Alexis Krauss’s vocals, that’s a whole different story altogether.  There was a point years ago when she sounded sharp, always on edge, they were seriously incredibly piercing.  Now, they just sound like pop vocals.  Honestly, that’s not the worst thing in the world.  My problem is, these are pop vocals that I couldn’t pick out of a lineup if my life depended on it.  There are solid grooves here and there on “It’s Just Us Now”, and if I was falling asleep this would probably jolt me right awake.  But where’s the spontaneousness?  Where’s the excitement?  Not to mention, that chorus is just awful.  Krauss sounds legitimately flat, and everything else just sounds like so many other pop tracks I’ve heard recently.  This is NOT the start that I wanted.  Up next is “Torn Clean”, and atleast the opening atmosphere on this one is enjoyable.  It has an actually quite refreshing dreamy, hazy feeling to it, which is kinda odd for a Sleigh Bells track, but it works.  Miller’s instrumentals here are much more enjoyable, as they punch their way through the atmosphere seemingly from a distance, it’s actually a really cool effect. When his instrumentals aren’t front and center, it’s a little easier to swallow just how less chaotic they’ve become.  Krauss does sound a little better her, mostly because she sounds muffled by this thick atmosphere to be honest.  I mean that in the best way though, I really feel like when her vocals aren’t the main attraction they come off wonderful. Sadly though, “Torn Clean” just kinda ends abruptly.  What’s even worse is that that seems to be a recurring theme.  A lot of the better concepts and tracks here, while they’re scarce are on the shorter, more incomplete side.  Late in the album, “I Know Not To Count On You” is tough to listen to right from the opening bars.  Instantly, Sleigh Bells is bringing in this heavy electronic sound.  Now you may think that they can pull this sound off, hell maybe even a little CyberPunk sound.  But to be honest, it’s just as sloppy as other tracks on here.  Sleigh Bells need to stay away from anything with a keyboard to be honest, it just doesn’t work for them.  And then, because “I Know Not To Count On You” wasn’t already grating on my nerves, it makes the switch from an electronic-semi beatdown to an acoustic ballad.  And let me tell you, if you thought Sleigh Bells couldn’t pull off frantic electronics, they REALLY can’t pull off acoustic ballads.  And OH BOY, because I wasn’t already in such a good mood listening to this, “Rule Number One” is up next.  And *ahem* LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING BROTHER (I’m working on my Hulk Hogan impression), if you thought grating electronics and acoustic ballads were bad, just wait until Alexis Krauss starts attempting to rap.  Because that’s what we get on “Rule Number One” ladies and gentlemen, and yes it’s as awful as you would think it would be.  I hate to say it, but I’m actually embarrassed for her, and to think this was a freakin’ single from this album?  Oh boy.  Then we have the lyrics, which seriously aren’t helping anybody or anyone.  They take the already ridiculous concept of Alexis Krauss rapping, and make it even more ridiculous and even harder to take seriously.  Sleigh Bells at one time in their career sounded like some twisted, other worldly cheerleading practice.  This on the other hand sounds like the worst Super Bowl halftime show you’ve ever heard.   Ugh.  But all of that being said, yes there are a few tracks on here that are listenable.  “Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold” may start off with the most laughably cheesy piano licks you’ve heard in a while but it does get much more interesting.  Krauss, while I’m not a fan of her vocals throughout this album, you gotta give her some credit.  Over the years, she’s become so much more comfortable as a performer, it’s pretty overwhelming.  I’d almost go as far as to say that she’s almost gotten too big for Sleigh Bells, at least as far as her vocals go.  “Lightning Turns Sawdust Gold” is still over-produced as anything, but it actually has a lot of decent melodies here and there.  When it comes to the production, no I’m not looking for another Lo-FI Sleigh Bells album, that would probably come off as awful at this point, but I would like to hear just a little more grit.

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

Continuing on with some positives, there are a few tracks on “Jessica Rabbit” that really create an awesome atmosphere.  Take for example “Loyal For”.   This track lands about halfway through the album, and right from the intro were dealing with some seriously dark stuff.  I’m not talking about “kinda sorta edgy” dark, I’m talking a darkness rivaling Chelsea Wolfe’s “Abyss” (And that album is DARK).  However, it’s not as overwhelming as you would think, as here Krauss lightens up the mood just enough.  Her vocals on this one aren’t nearly at the forefront as they usually are,  and while her vocals are sort of floating through the background atmosphere, they come off so much more powerful and memorable.  I just wish this track when on a little longer, because some of those instrumentals here are absolutely ridiculous.  “Crucible” is one of the album’s darker moments as well, but this one is a little more over the top.  Here, Sleigh Bells right off the bat sample what sounds like a scream from an old B-List horror movie.  But in all of it’s cheesiness, I actually kind of really like it.  The instrumental here is quirky, and is absolutely a little more spontaneous sounding.  And even though Krauss’s vocals and the production are still squeaky clean, I can’t say no to this track, everything just works.  Hell, there’s even a really solid groove here.  So what did we learn on “Crucible’” class?  Clearly, Sleigh Bells can still write a good song.  The over the top feeling here just worked for me so well, and the punchy instrumentals were actually exciting, not bad.   But for every track like “Crucible” there are tracks like “Baptism By Fire”.  When it comes to the later tracks on “Jessica Rabbit”, Sleigh Bells’ material gets harder and harder to listen to.  Now let me just say, I can handle pop songs.  But tracks like “Baptism By Fire” aren’t even pop, it’s just bubblegum bullshit.  It’s even more awkward when Sleigh Bells try to throw in a few swear words here and there to sound edgy.  Even the instrumentals here sound like Sleigh Bells have completely given up even trying anymore.  “Baptism By Fire” overall doesn’t have a single element I can really sink my teeth into and enjoy.  But the biggest travesty here is just how hard the duo are trying.  They’re seriously trying very VERY hard to sound like themselves in 2008.  But while back then, their blend of noise and pop came off as adventurous, now it just comes off as really ugly.  “I Can Only Stare” starts off with an instrumental that honestly really isn’t that bad, but once Krauss’s vocals come in I really can’t help but wince.  Here, her vocals are totally out of place.  There was a time where Alexis Krauss’s vocals complimented Derek Miller’s abrasive instrumentals.  But now her vocals are literally going toe to toe with the instrumentals, with neither one really coming out on top.  Also, so many of these tracks may start decent but overtime just fall flat!  On “I Can Only Stare” the instrumental goes from genuinely interesting to completely generic, really quickly.  Honestly, I don’t really even know what Sleigh Bells are even aiming for on these tracks.  Every time I hear an element I really dig here, Sleigh Bells come back and aggravate me with something else.  Take for example “Throw Me Down The Stairs”.  Once again we’re treated to a seriously bombastic intro instrumental.  But that’s all throw down the drain super quickly by just how pop-oriented everything else here is.  If it wasn’t for the instrumental, I would think I had by accident turned on the radio.  Even when there is a solid instrumental like there is here, my biggest problem of this entire album is still prevalent, everything sounds so planned out.  Listening to the first Sleigh Bells album and its sequel, you got this feeling that you were at their live show, and neither you nor them really knew what they were going to do next, and that was exciting.  This, sounds like they planned these tracks out for months, leaving nothing to feel spontaneous at all.  There are a few super punchy instrumental bits here and there, but then I hear these awful cheesy guitar licks toward the end of the track that seriously need to burn in hell.  This album is a mess.

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

Sleigh Bells do still have a few more semi-interesting tricks up their sleeves.  “Hyper Dark” surprisingly enough, actually comes off sounding like some of their classic material, especially in that instrumental.  Here, the instrumental is on the quieter side and Krauss’s vocals boom over them, making for a legitimately interesting dynamic.  Honestly, I never thought I would say this, but a more subdued, quieter direction for Sleigh Bells may actually work really nicely.  It comes off really nicely, almost as if Krauss is singing over a John Carpenter movie theme.  And when those noisy guitars do end up making their way in towards the end, they don’t come off as too intrusive at all.  “Hyper Dark” is very well done.  “Unlimited Dark Paths” is OK at best, it’s certainly not terrible.  I feel like so many of these tracks though start off the right way and get me on the edge of my seat, but in some way or another I’m let down.  On “Unlimited Dark Paths”, it’s that electronic sound that forces it’s way back in that really gets on my nerve, seriously who invited this guy?  However, Krauss’s vocals here are once again on the more subdued side and once again are more memorable.  But at the end of the day, there’s no beating around just how messy this album is.  “I Can’t Stand You Anymore” is absolutely painful to listen to.  Once again Sleigh Bells are going so hard on trying to bring back their classic sound and just falling so short it’s not even funny.  The main riff here literally sounds like something off of an 80’s hair band reunion record, ouch.  Take all of this, add in some of the most watered down breakdowns you'll ever hear, and that’s really what can you expect for the majority of the album.  Finally, let’s talk about the finale here, “As If”.  Once again, not too shocking, we have Sleigh Bells clambering to reach the sound they once had.  On “As If” though, it’s truly hard to swallow.  Miller’s instrumentals here sound like something off of a cheesy Nu-Metal album, and Krauss’s vocals are at their most soulless and unrecognizable here.   There are some legitimate blasts of harsh noise which actually get me going, but it’s just way too late at that point.  Not to mention that last little electronic section is just a waste of time, like most of this album sadly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLCZDsd2E10

Rating: 5.5/10

Give A Listen To:  “Crucible”, “Loyal For” "Hyper Dark", “Unlimited Dark Paths”

Overall Thoughts:  Sleigh Bells spend most of this album trying desperately to grab on to a sound that they really lost so many years ago.  There was a time, a great time, when Sleigh Bells combo of noisy guitars and pop vocals was scene as edgy and really fascinating.  Now, it just comes off as a clash of styles that's just plain ugly to sit through, and it's not fun.  There are tracks on here that will grab your ear, and some other may even pump you up and excite you.  But the majority of this album you'll just spend mourning over the simpler days of Sleigh Bells.