Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

Kendrick Lamar, over the last few years has skyrocketed to being THE hip hop artist.  In 2011, "Section.80" showed that Kendrick, while he was young, had a TON to say.  He said it all too dammit.  While Kendrick was still getting his voice, and while this album wasn't as flawless and game changing as the two he's done since, it showed endless amount of promise.  Not so shockingly, Kendrick followed it up with one of this generations most iconic hip hop albums, "Good Kid, "M.A.A.D. City".  This album was near perfect, not only having truly brilliant singles like "Money Trees" and "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe", it also was an unreal album as a whole.  Telling deep, personal stories about growing up and being corrupted by Gang culture, it was emotional, it was rough, and quite frankly it was near perfect.  How in the world could Kendrick top this?! Well, he did just that in 2015 with the jaw dropping "To Pimp A Butterfly".  While I'm always going to be more of a fan of "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City", there was something truly special about "To Pimp A Butterfly".  This tackles a whole lot of the same themes as his previous album, but did it in so much more of an artistic, genuinely stunning way.  It was conscious, with elements of everything to G-Funk to Jazz Rap, and cemented Kendrick as THE hip hop artist of this generation.  Hell, even on his B-Sides album, last year's "Untitled Unmastered", Kendrick seemed just as revolutionary as ever.  Overall this wasn't as jaw dropping as his past few releases.  BUT, it proved something we already kind've knew, and that was that even on Kendrick's worst day, he was better than just about every other rapper out there.  And now out of nowhere, Kendrick is teasing us with something new, powered by two strong singles.  Let's check out the rest of this, and see if Kendrick Lamar can once again change the way the world experiences rap.

This album starts off with “BLOOD.”.  There are some heavy use of soul samples which go wonderfully against this almost ghostly production.  Just by hearing this intro you get the feeling that something is about to happen that probably isn’t too good.  “BLOOD.” is just so dreary sounding, but it’s also right up Kendrick’s alley as far as sampling goes.  Now to be honest, I never really know what to expect from Kendrick.  We’ve heard everything from G-Funk to Experimental Hip Hop from Kendrick, so he certainly can hit us from all sorts of different areas of Hip Hop.  But “BLOOD.” is totally left field of everything I was expecting to hear from Kendrick.  It’s very dark, and it focuses mostly around this very dark beat and Kendrick telling us this story over it.  I think what makes this track works so much is just the pacing behind it.  The way Kendrick keeps pausing as he’s talking to the woman in his story, you can tell SOMETHING is about to happen.  But at this point in his career, Kendrick even though he’s just telling us a story has such a way with it, and it ends up being absolutely mesmerizing.  It’s a powerful, quick intro, and the somber tone and sad sounding beat is just heart wrenching.  And of course, something does happen eventually, Kendrick gets shot.  The album obviously though is just getting started as Kendrick rips into “DNA.”.  Let me just say, Kendrick has always been so damn smart.  He always seems to take something negative in his life, like in this case a negative interview with Geraldo Rivera, and turns that into something larger.  Kendrick, whose not one to be held down by anyone, took that interview and sampled it, making a statement that I’m sure Geraldo could not have expected.  The beat that follows in the opening moments is a little more of a banger and is heavier than the material on “To Pimp A Butterfly” (Not to say that there certainly wasn’t bangers on there).  But at its core, this really just goes straight back to the mentality that made “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” so damn good.  Kendrick in his delivery sounds absolutely vicious and just as smooth as ever.  That somber, sort of dark tone continues on in these beats, and lyrically Kendrick continues to blast whoever he’s had his sights on in his last few singles.  However the real story on “DNA.” continues to be the use of this Geraldo Rivera interview, Kendrick continues to use it HUGELY.  Not only that, but he’s putting it completely at the forefront of everything to make it even a bigger statement.  Not only is Kendrick gifted lyrically, but as an artist he’s simply put BRILLIANT.  Not to mention, the beat switch up to that much heavier beat is absolutely ridiculous.  Moving On!  Up next is one of my favorite tracks here by far, “YAH.”.  First, let me just say that these beats are near perfection, and they don’t lighten up at all.  They’re sort of jazzy and sort of reminiscent of some of the early 2000’s underground hip hop movement to an extent.  Now, since Kendrick Lamar started recording only a few short years ago, the world has seriously changed a lot.  It’s a whole lot more hectic, and more times than not it’s often dangerous, and here we’re seeing just how much it’s getting to him.  I mean just take a look at this album cover, Kendrick looks exhausted and burned out, it even comes through in his delivery sometimes.  Lyrically here, Kendrick is bringing up everything that the world and himself are feeling on a daily basis, and very quickly it’s becoming pretty obvious why Kendrick feels the way he does.  Geraldo Rivera and Fox News continue to be a serious boiling point for Kendrick, and probably have forced him into feeling the way he’s been feeling on this album and in general.  But Kendrick has always been so good at letting us into his life.  Here he goes into things like his niece seeing him on Fox News, and you seriously end up feeling for the guy.  Also, Kendrick since his debut has also been known to be very religious, and there’s plenty of references to that on here as well.  Now if you listen to the beats, they continue to be very hazy and almost psychedelic, and that’s not going to go anywhere either.  You can take it however you want, you can say that Kendrick is having a near death experience from getting shot, or something else entirely.  But whatever it is, it’s pretty damn stunning.  Up next is “ELEMENT.”, and I guess it’s about time to bring up these ad-libs that show up on practically every track.  Now usually, I feel like this would be a major negative aspect for me, but even the ad-libs on Kendrick Lamar albums come off tastefully.  Plus, they do exactly what they’re supposed to do, and that’s hype up the listener.  Between talking about his enemies once again and bringing up family and religion, this is more of what’s to be expected from Kendrick.  But it’s just presented so damn good.  The beats here continue to be so haunting and dreary, but when you take into consideration that James Blake produced this one, it’s really not that shocking.  I love just how dark and dreary this all comes off, and since this is all coming after Kendrick gets “shot”, it speaks volumes.  And seriously, I don’t know WHAT happened to Kendrick in the last few years, but he sounds so betrayed, not only by whoever it is he’s been referencing but the entire human race I feel like.  It’s powerful stuff. “FEEL.” continues this album on, and by this point it’s pretty damn obvious that “Ain’t Nobody Praying For Me” continues to be a serious theme on this album.  So many of these tracks as this album goes on, continue with this very dreary, laid back sound.  But honestly, it really works for Kendrick.  Kendrick here literally goes down a list of things that he's been feeling lately, and let me tell you this young man has been feeling quite a bit(Betrayal and loneliness however, continue to be huge).  Kendrick says "I feel like it ain't no tomorrow, fuck the world, The world is endin', I'm done pretendin'. And fuck you if you get offended. I feel like friends been overrated, I feel like the family been fakin', I feel like the feelings are changin’.”, powerful stuff.  Kendrick has never been afraid to say what he’s feeling, but this is next level.  Kendrick isn’t holding back a single lick of anything.  And while Kendrick in his delivery still sounds a little worn down, he’s still the most fierce and focused MC out there.  

Up next is “LOYALTY.” featuring Rihanna, and as far as a real “Banger” goes, this is probably the closest you’re going to heat to one on this album.  HOWEVER, it’s a brilliant one.   This one while it’s much heavier and bass-centered, it still seems os beaten down and heartbroken.  I love Kendrick’s flow here, it’s still just as focused and piercing, but it’s a little more chilled out as well.  Now, while I’ve never been exactly a big fan of Rihanna’s solo work, she’s always seemed to win me over when it comes to features and hooks.  Her chemistry with Kendrick here is surprisingly, really spot on.  But once again, we see betrayal being seriously a HUGE element to this album, and of course this track as this one is allllll about loyalty.  And let me just say now, the production of this album is absolutely stellar: While it’s very cleanly produced and very hip, it has tons of old school flare that really sets this apart.  “PRIDE.” is up next, and I continue to can’t get enough of these very ghostly, other worldly sounding samples that make everything so damn dreary sounding.  The beat here is so melancholy and the gloomy sounding guitars compliment the samples so well.  In a weird way, as far as the tone and atmosphere goes this kinda reminds me of Earl Sweatshirt’s “I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside”.  Obviously though, as much as I love Earl, this is much more masterfully done.  So much so, that you end up seriously feeling for Kendrick.  Now to be honest though, if I had to choose a track here that I wasn’t completely vining on, it would probably be this one.  I feel like here, Kendrick is lyrically just as sharp as ever.  But here his delivery is just a little too laid back and a little TOO dreary for my liking. Kendrick’s verse certainly wakes me up and all, but the rest of this is just a little too relaxing.  But even when Kendrick is at his sleepiest, he’s still on point with his lyrics, especially that one line about bringing all the world’s religions to the same service.  “HUMBLE” is up next, and “Nobody Pray For Me” continues to be another HUGE theme of this album.  After the sleepy eyes “PRIDE.”, this is the sort of fiery banger I really needed.  In a way, this doesn’t really fit the sound of the album, but lyrically, hell yea it does.  And like I said, while the tone of this one doesn’t really fit with the album, it certainly mixes up the feel of the album.  Whether he knows it or not, Kendrick with “PRIDE.” just casually came out with one of the best Anti-Hater track’s you’re going to hear all year.  Kendrick on this album seriously has proven something that we sort of already knew, and that’s that every time you feel like Kendrick Lamar has run out of things to say, he still has PLENTY to say.  “PRIDE.” is exciting, intense, brilliant, and a fantastic banger.  Next up is “LUST.”, which returns to a whole lot of the feels we got earlier from this.  It’s very hazy in sound, almost a little psychedelic, but with Jazz virtuosos BadBadNotGood on production, I can’t say I’m too shocked.  I love the very glitchy production on this one, as well as Kendrick’s sort of soulful performance.  Instrumentally, there’s just so much going on in this one, between the very lazy synthesizers throughout the back and the guitar licks floating throughout as well.  “LUST.” is probably the most experimental and abstract track we’ve heard here so far.  But it’s wild moments like this that make Kendrick so exciting.  Here, Kendrick takes us deep into vices, namely drugs and sex.  Overall, this album is so well done, as Kendrick once again has reinvented himself to an astonishing level.  But while I’m seriously crazy about so much of this album, “LOVE.”  featuring Zacari kinda doesn’t hit me as hard as I know it’s hitting most people.  Now, it’s certainly good and all, but there are so many other tracks here that I would so much rather listen to.  Zacari’s vocals are really nice and compliment Kendrick very nicely, not to mention that hook is fantastic.  But I dunno, the whole vibe to this track just really doesn’t vibe with the rest of the album.  I think this is still a solid tune, and for a slow jam coming from Kendrick Lamar, I can’t really expect much more.  

Up next we seriously have to address the elephant in the room, meaning U2.  Can I just ask, did anyone really think Kendrick was serious when he said U2 were going to be featured on a track?  Cause I didn’t.  Anyway!  “XXX.” featuring U2 is up next, and I’m gonna be honest this was the track here that I worried about the most.  However, it certainly turned out pretty damn decent.  This is one of the more old school sounding tracks here and certainly is more straightforward as far as the beat goes.  It’s certainly nice to hear Kendrick on a beat that’s a little more up front and explosive and not as hazy.  Not only is the beat explosive here, but Kendrick himself is absolutely explosive and gigantic.  Kendrick after mellowing out just a little, is right back to being pissed off.  Of course he’s been for most of the album, but this is the angriest we’ve heard in a while.  As far as lyrical themes go, we’re dealing with A LOT of what we’ve been accustomed to if you’ve listened to the past few Kendrick albums.  He brings up life int he areas that he’s lived in, as well as gun control, and as many times I’ve heard Kendrick on these topics, it never fails to blow my mind.  Then, we have U2’s contribution, which is honestly done really tastefully (if you know how much I despise U2, you’ll know just how much that sentence killed me to write).  “XXX.” is Jazzy, it’s conscious, and adds plenty to this absolute masterpiece int he making of Kendrick’s.  “FEAR.” is next, and I continue to love the seriously jazzy feel to a lot of these tracks.  I love the funky licks here that remind me of some of the beats on “The Heart Part 4”.  Kendrick continues to bring in a whole lot of religious themes and imagery, but at this point it’s become so engraved in Kendrick’s music that is comes off so well.  Then we have the bizarre backwards vocals that come off so wild and give me just enough of the experimental, edgy vibe that came up on “To Pimp A Butterfly”.  Lyrically, this one dives into Kendrick’s home life, at least it seems that way.  We learn about how he grew to fear who he lived with (And turned to smoking pot), and of course how overtime his fame has brought him to fear much greater things.  Overall, this continues to be so beyond powerful.  Kendrick is this generations great Rap storyteller, and the funky licks and jazzy vibes that back him up here make this brilliant.  We’re almost to the end of this bad boy, but Kendrick isn’t done with us yet.  Up nest is “GOD.”, with its synth heavy beat and shimmering atmosphere.  Kendrick’s verses here show him going into his upper register, with him almost coming off as singing.  But to be honest, it’s actually really stunning and amazing, and seriously really refreshing.  In a way, this album I didn’t really think was possible.  BUT, I think this may just be the most important album Kendrick has made for himself.  In the long run, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City” and “To Pimp A Butterfly” seemed to be for others.  But “DAMN.” is 100% for kendrick, and man is it ever well done.  It’s fierce when it needs to be, it’s beautiful occasionally, and once again Kendrick has seriously taken the way people listen to rap and has turned it around completely.  This album finishes off with “DUCKWORTH.”.  Kendrick more often than not, does what so many artists have a real issue with.  And that my friends, it starting an idea, putting in plenty of details to prove a point, and most importantly finishing his thoughts.  On “DUCKWORTH.”, Kendrick brings us right back to the sounds of this album’s introduction, literally bringing us full circle.  And honestly, it makes “DAMN.” feel very complete.  “DUCKWORTH.” is smooth, it’s soulful, it’s a little jazzy, and most importantly it’s just as conscious and smart as other tracks here.  Even as far as song topics go, Kendrick brings us full circle by summarizing this entire album’s vast array of emotions.  The multiple beat changes come off absolutely stunning, each coming off nicer than the last.  Not to mention, we’re getting even MORE of an outlook into Kendrick’s teen years, just when we thought we literally know so much about him.  Not only that, it all comes off brilliantly.  And of course, Kendrick you clever son of a gun, this track ends with the same gun shot that started this album off.  Everything has come full circle, and to be quite honest, hell yes it’s moving.  Kendrick Lamar, may I just say, you’ve outdone yourself.  

Rating: 9.2/10

Give A Listen To: "YAH", "ELEMENT", "LOYALTY", "HUMBLE."

Overall Thoughts: Going into this album, I honestly had my doubts, slight doubts, but doubts nonetheless.  I thought to myself, "In the past few years, Kendrick Lamar has given us so much, yet seemingly constantly kept things fresh and exciting.  So what the hell is he going to do after releasing two of the most critically acclaimed hip hop albums ever".  WELL self, the answer is, go fiercer than ever, hit harder than ever, and lay absolutely everything on the table.  Kendrick on "DAMN." has outdone himself.  Once again, he proves that lyrically he's head and shoulders he's above and beyond everyone else in Rap right now, and conceptually, Kendrick may as well be a damn God of rap.  After releasing two of Hip Hop's most cherish album's, Kendrick believe it or not, has just released his best album yet.  

Future Islands - The Far Field

Future Islands in the last few years, have become one of the biggest Synth-Pop acts in the world, mostly dude to their GIGANTIC singles and brilliant live shows.  You certainly wouldn't know that though looking at their 2008 debut "Wave Like Me".  The songwriting was obviously solid and their performances were OK.  But the production here was AWFUL, and the songs more often than not came off very hectic and not really well thought out.  Even vocalist Sam Herring's vocals which have become such a gigantic part of Future Islands music seemed so small and minuscule.  THeir next album, "In Evening Air", was a big step up, but started to reveal Future Island's big flaw.  Their biggest flaw has always been their deep album cuts.  Future Islands have ALWAYS been so good at making huge singles to garner them attention, but always get real sloppy with later tracks.  The same is true for "In Evening Air", but the production and song structure at least was a huge step up. 2011's "On The Water" was the first time that I really felt like Future Islands really got it right.  The songs on this album were gigantic, cleanly produced, beautiful, and seriously emotionally charged for Synth Pop tracks.  All Future Islands seriously needed was one HUGE song to get the ball rolling.    And boy, did they ever get that.  On their next album, "Singles", Future Islands absolutely nailed it, creating an almost perfect synth pop album.  Most of this, was fueled by the absolutely massive success of the "Seasons (Waiting On You)" single.  A few legendary live shows and one iconic David Letterman performance later, and Future Islands seem to be on the top of the Synth Pop genre.  These new singles, let me tell you, have been absolutely as gigantic as I could have wanted them to be.  Let's chat about the rest of this thing, shall we!

( I'm just gonna leave this here)

This album starts off with "Aladdin", and I dunno, I feel like right off the bat that fade in could have come off so much better.  It's a little awkward, and I would have been just as happy with them bursting out into a huge single.  However, it does smooth out quickly.  You can always tell Sam Herring's performance from a mile away I feel like, his voice is always so distinct and so passionate, even on more low key tracks like this.  In a strange way this is almost a slow jam, but it does come off nicely.  But at the same time, I almost feel like "Aladdin" is a little too "Business As Usual" for Future Islands.  It's a nice track, but for an intro that's supposed to be ushering in the sound of this entire album it sure does come off safe.  There are certainly some great elements however, like Sam's incredible performance as well as the beautiful strings in the background.  "Time On Her Side" though quickly takes things in the right direction.  This track remains pleasant on the ears, but also falls a little more in line with what I usually fell in love with about Future Islands.  Now, there are some points on this album where the group's instrumentals seem a little recycled, but I have to admit they almost always pull it off nicely and make everything sound fresh.  I always love how BIG the atmosphere is in the music of Future Islands.  The much more bouncy atmosphere on this one actually makes  this one a whole lot easier to swallow.  And while this isn't exactly reinventing the wheel as far as Future Islands go, these big verses and even bigger choruses really make this work.  There's such a vastness to this music, which gives tracks like "Time On Her Side" almost a majestic feel, and that's made even bigger by the very faint horns in the back that actually work great.  It's nothing too different, but a great tune is a great tune. So of course, since this IS a Future Islands album, there has to be that one HUGE, epic synth pop tune.  "Ran" is that single.  It starts off with a very pretty synth intro, while the music of Future Islands has always been epic there's also been a certain tranquility here as well.  The rolling bass however helps this one pick up real quick.  Sam here sounds so reinvigorated, so absolutely GIGANTIC.  As far as a single goes, this is pretty unstoppable sounding.  This ends up being such a wonderful, romantic, sweet song, but it's also intense enough to make you want to climb mountains and run marathons.  Simply put, it's the big single I wanted to hear from Future Islands.  The songwriting continues to be on the simpler side of things, but these performances are so incredibly heartfelt and passionate that I think it works out incredibly.  This is probably going to end up being one of my favorite singles of the year to be honest, I can't listen to this track without getting all caught up in everything.  Sam'e Performance is absolutely incredible, but I still have one issue.  When are Future Islands going to be able to match this intensity for an entire album.  "Beauty Of The Road" is up next, and this is certainly a little more on the experimental side.  It does smooth out quick, but it remains so much more less inviting than "Ran".  However, the groove on this one is solid enough to make this track work.  "Beauty Of The Road" has a little bit of a reggae tinge to it, which certainly is weird at first.  But Sam's more subdued, but equally as passionate performance here actually makes things come off really nicely.  It has a serene beauty that I can't help to get all wrapped up in. The only thing I really can't get into about this, sadly is Sam's performance.   It certainly is just as passionate and huge sounding, but on tracks like this he has a sort of spoken word thing going on that I just can't really get into.  But as far as a groovy, low key Future Islands track, yea this is solid.

"Cave" is up next, the second single dropped from this album.  The synths that open this one up have been the warmest I've heard so far on here, and some of the most inviting sounds I've heard so far as well.  Now, you already know my thoughts on these absolutely HUGE sounding synth pop epics, and this one is just as intense and unstoppable sounding.  On "Cave", Sam's more subdued performance is absolutely stunning to say the very least.  It's a little more on the artsy side and it's absolutely jaw dropping.  It's tracks like "Cave" that Future Islands need to stick with.  The atmosphere alone on tracks like this and these driving performances could sell an album just by sticking to this.  This also is absolutely a much darker sound for Future Islands, compared to the usual, very overpowering and sort of inspirational sound that they tend to go with.  It works fantastically though. PLUS, I love of the more abrasive, noisy bits here, they come off unexpected and genuinely exciting.  But at the end of the day, Sam Herring's truly commanding performance is constantly front and center.  The first track on here that doesn't seriously grab me, is "Through The Roses".  This one once again goes for a much more subdued sound, but here it really doesn't come off as strong.  It's at times like this that I really don't feel like Sam's vocals come off that well.  Here, he doesn't sound raspy or cool, he sounds bored.  I still love the lyrics and all and certainly that mystic vibe really sticks, and some of Sam's more theatrical moments are still captivating.  "North Star" starts off a little weird for my liking as well, but this one smooths out pretty quickly.  It's the little details on this one like the added percussion that gives this one actually a seriously nice groove.  Lyrically there has always been something so classy and romantic about the music of Future Islands, but it really never seems to come off as cheesy, and here is no different.  Sam's voice over the years has come out of it's shell so much that is quite frankly practically has its own personality to it.  I also seriously love the sort of world music flair to "North Star".  It's a nice change in direction for these guys, and it's risks like this that I really want to see them take more of in the future.  "Ancient Water" is up next, and here we see Future Islands back in their comfort zone.  But I wouldn't necessarily say that's a bad thing, this actually has a great feel to it.  It's certainly much icier and robotic sounding, but in a way I sort of felt that was missing from the tracks here so far.  Clearly this sounds like a track that would have shown up on their "Singles" album, which if you're like me loved, than you'll certainly dig this.  This album overall is GOOD, but I do have one real issue with all of this that I can see others having too.  Future Islands are a little too far into their comfort zone.  The music here is often fantastic, but you also get the feeling a little too often that you've heard these tracks before.

"Candles" while it certainly has a fine atmosphere down, things are starting to get a little weird.  Earlier, they toyed a bit with a sort of reggae sound, and it came off great.  This, comes off ridiculously cheesy.  "Candles" main problem is that it just comes off so forced, while earlier attempts at this sounds sort of happened on their own.  The hook on this track is seriously not that good either.  And outside of this lukewarm chorus, Sam's performance here is by far his most lifeless one yet by far.  With some of these late album tracks, Future Islands are resorting to some of their old habits.  Like, so much of this material is GOOD, but then tracks like "Candles" come up and I want to forget everything about this album.  I do however, really like some of the later group vocals.  Future Islands however bounce back very quickly with the fantastic "Day Glow Fire".  Their performance here is determined, as this one quickly comes off as another really solid synth pop anthem.  While I understand that it would be hard for ANYONE to write a whole album in this sort of atmosphere, I'd still love to hear them try.  Sam just sounds so over the top and theatrical here, and the amazing imagery in the lyrics tie everything together wonderfully, as well as this huge sense of longing.  I hear tracks like this and I instantly feel tons of hope for Future Islands' future.  Now, I was certainly worried about "Shadows", mostly because it's a collaboration with legendary Blondie singer Debbie Harry.  Now, I'm a gigantic fan of Blondie but in general Debbie hasn't been sounding too hot lately.  But "Shadows" comes off surprisingly really nice.  The synths are icy, but the atmosphere is much more welcoming,  This one actually has a whole lot in common with some of the earlier BIG singles here, and I love how big and bold Sam's performance is here.  Not to mention, is it just me, or does Debbie Harry actually sound fantastic on this?  She sounds literally right at home among this very explosive synth pop anthem.  The huge releases for the chorus are gigantic and some of the dual vocal portions come off really nice, so hell yea this works great.  This album ends off with "Black Rose", which is at the most, decent.  It has a very subtle, very pretty intro, with a really nice laid back bass line and semi-upbeat feel.  But Sam's performance on this one is a little underwhelming.  It has it's moments certainly but I was expecting a little something grander and more epic for a finale, it's still decent for a finale though.  

Rating: 7.8/10

Give A Listen To - "Time On Her Side", "Ran" "Cave", "North Star"

Overall Thoughts:  At the end of the day, this album is good.  But I wouldn't say it's necessarily great, and it's still far from perfect.  Future Islands time after time, bring us so many huge singles that easily stand the test of time and are going to continue getting them a gigantic cult following.  But some of these deep cuts here continue to be underwhelming.  Almost every track here has fantastic moments, and Sam Herring's performance throughout this album is almost always flawless.  But am I the only one who thinks that Future Islands need to take just a few more risks in their music?   It's still probably the best thing going in Synth Pop right now.

White Reaper - The World's Best American Band

Now if any of y'all know me personally, you'll know that scratchy, distorted garage rock is one of my favorite genres to really dive into.  Louisville's own White Reaper with their 2014 self titled EP gave me everything that I was looking for at the time.  Around 2014 some of my favorite Garage Rock/Garage Punk artists like Ty Segall and Black Lips really weren't making some of their best material to be honest.  But White Reaper on this short EP gave me the fury and raw energy I had been DYING to hear from the genre.  In 2015, they released their first full length album, "White Reaper Does It Again".  And to an extent, yea, they did do it again.  This wasn't a perfect album, and some times I thought this album had way too much electronic influence (while in other moments I thought it was brilliant however).  BUT, White Reaper had such a fantastic, upbeat, youthful and catchy sound to them that I really did enjoy more of what they were doing.  The newest singles from white reaper however, man oh man have they ever been different.  Not bad, but different.  Let's talk about it.

This album starts off with its title track, “The World’s Best American Band”.  I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the crowd sound effects were necessary here, but it certainly gets you hyped up.  The guitar riff that follows is the pure definition of triumphant.  White Reaper have always done so well with capitalizing on this very youthful sound of theirs.  It’s a little more cleanly produced than their past work, which certainly worried me about this the first few times I listened to it.  But White Reaper really work well with this cleaner production.  Overall, I can’t remember the last time a Rock track just encapsulated such a fun, youthful feel.  It’s bouncy, with obviously tons of classic rock influence (I’m gettin’ a huge Cheap Trick vibe from this).  But these big BIG choruses are what tie this together really nicely, which up until now had certainly been present in White Reaper’s music, but not THIS strongly.  It gives me this feeling that this track and others on this album are seriously going to stand the test of time.  This track is just a straight up, nothing fancy garage rock anthem.  Not to mention, while this track is almost 5 minutes it really doesn't feel like it.  Also, not only is this a great introduction to this album, I feel like this is just a great intro to their music in general.  “Judy French” up next is a little more modern sounding, but man oh man is this ever a seriously punchy balls out rock track.  This riff is absolutely gold, and the off the walls blast of energy in that vocal delivery just makes this track a BLAST.  There’s a certain simplicity to this that just comes off so obvious, like a “Why the hell hasn’t anyone else done this lately” kind of feel.  There are sweet lyrical moments, there are blast of energy throughout the verses, there really is so much going on.  Overall this is just a great single that is going to really define White Reaper, and that’s not a bad thing.  This one’s also got a certain punk sort of attitude.  If we’re sticking with classic rock analogies, it’s more of a Buzzcocks sound than a Sex Pistols sound, but it works for White Reaper REALLY well.  All of the same youthful energy is here in droves, and the solo here will alleviate any worries that you felt about White Reaper going for a cleaner sound here.  Up next is “Eagle Beach”, which is a little grimier and heavier in sound while slowing things down quite a bit.  These guitar licks here are a little sleazy, and just so much much of this gives me this overwhelming sense that White Reaper are having a blast.  There are still plenty of sweet sentiments throughout these lyrics, White Reaper continue to write songs that most bands wouldn’t touch in this generation (and of course, the retro vibe sticks to that like a glove).  I honestly feel like White Reaper sat down recording this album and just wrote a straight up rock n roll album with no rules whatsoever, but hell it works for them so well.  There’s not really a ton to dive into on these songs, most of them are pretty straightforward.  But that’s far from a bad thing.  “Little Silver Cross” is up next, and listening to this intro I’m half expecting for them to go into Prince’s opening monologue from “Let’s Go Crazy”.  But no, even over this very calming opening synth part, White Reaper are ready to go.  This one picks up quickly, but that synth doesn’t go anywhere which I actually think comes off nicely.  The riff here is fantastic, so many of these tracks have such simple structures, being made up of buildup during the entire verse and exploding for the chorus.  And boy, do tracks like “Little Silver Cross” ever explode.  As simple as this one ends up being, moments like the chorus here end up being some of the most memorable on the entire album.  In a time period where so many rock albums need a recurring theme or a gimmick or a sub genre to get over and stand out, this is one of the more refreshing things I’ve heard in a while.  

When we get into later tracks like “The Stack” some of the production gets seriously grimier.  But I love it to be honest, it certainly gives these tracks a much more wild and unpredictable feel.  Listening to these tracks, I feel like I’m back at college at some 15$ entry, beer soaked show on a Friday night.  The piano on this one plunking in the background gives this one a nice backing as well, and reminds us that we’re still in the presence of a very classic sounding album.  And while tracks like this are short and simple, most of them give you a strange feeling of completion:  These tracks show up, give you some catchy hooks and memorable licks and they’re on their way.  To be honest, not a lot of the tracks here really fall under my radar.  However, “Party Next Door” is a little underwhelming.  This one just doesn’t have the same kind of old school sound that made other tracks here just such a joy to listen to.  The hook here even falls flat sadly and ends up being one of the most forgettable here by far.  Even the riff here ends up not flowing well at all.  All of the simplicity earlier that was making this all so refreshing comes off a little too simple here.  The only thing refreshing here is the synths towards the end, which were a huge part of the last album which haven’t really shown up much here.  However, White Reaper don’t stay down for long.  After a disappointing track like “Party Next Door”, the triumphant blast that is “Crystal Pistol” is seriously needed.  White Reaper tend to not wast any time with their music.  Usually there are no drawn out intros or gimmicks, just care free rock n’ roll.  I just can’t seem to get enough of Tony Esposito’s vocals, listening to them along will make you feel energetic and ready to hop on stage just in time for a stage dive or two.  The solo here is fantastic, and I continue to love the simplicity of the lyrics.  One thing I do wish there was a little more of were the solos.  They are present, but it’s a huge part of garage rock and I feel like I don’t hear it enough.  But outside of that, this is just a great rock album.  “Tell Me” is up next, and this one has a whole lot of blues elements that we haven’t heard yet here.  It’s a little something different for White Reaper, and it really doesn’t come out bad at all.  It gives “Tell Me” a sleazy, sexy sound that’s been absent for the last few tracks, but hell yes does it ever work.  The funk here is so undeniable, that I really wouldn’t mind hearing more groove-heavy tracks like this in the future (Even though I do think their strength lies within these upbeat and explosive garage punk jams).  Solid work boys.  

Now like I said, most of this album is real solid.  But “Daisies” late in the album just comes off sounding sloppy.  This riff really isn’t nearly as memorable even less flattering to their sound.  It’s much grungier in a way and comes off sounding like something from their early EP’s.  But overall, this just really isn’t flattering to them at all.  There’s no catchy hook to hold on to, and the hook that DOES show up doesn’t come off nearly as well.  Also, the main riff here just comes off WAY too much like a early 2000’s Strokes cover band for my liking.  Thankfully though, White Reaper get back into their groove seriously quickly with “Another Day”, the finale and quite possibly the most explosive track here.  It’s the shortest track here, but it works so well for them.  Listening to this you get this feeling of “One last Hoorah”, one more blast of energy, and it seriously comes off fantastic.  White Reaper may have a few projects under their belt, but I feel like for the first time they’ve officially arrived.  

Rating 8.2/10

Give A Listen To: “The World’s Best American Band”, “Judy French”, “Little Silver Cross”, “Crystal Pistol” 

Overall Thoughts:  This is the most complete White Reaper project yet by far.  When I heard them moving towards a slightly cleaner sound I didn't really know what to feel.  But White Reaper ended up really working with it well.  The chords here are rough, the choruses are punchy, and the atmosphere is so energetic and fun that it gives off this really wonderful, youthful sound.  It doesn't overstay it's welcome at only a little over 30 minutes, but where this album shines the most is it's simplicity.  Between the songwriting and the instrumentals themselves, theres an overwhelming sense of "This is so obviously good, I can't believe no one else did this first".  Cheers White Reaper.

Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

Father John Misty, aka Josh Tillman, since breaking away from Fleet Foxes has become one of Folk's biggest superstars.  Josh's dry sense of humor and bleak outlook on life has made him stand out from the rest of the Indie Folk world ever since his debut under the FJM moniker.  In 2012, he released "Fear Fun".  It was a solid electric folk album, but its real strength was how FILLED with personality it was.  It was also miles better than Tillman's releases under his real name.  Plus, every time I hear that opening riff of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings", I get chills.  Now to be honest, listening to "Fear Fun" back in the day, I wasn't 100% sold.  I liked it and all, but I didn't see Father John Misty doing anything to memorable in the future.  However, clearly I was wrong.  In  2015, he released the critically adored and fan loved "I Love You, Honeybear".  It was sweet, it was beautiful, all while sticking with Misty's usual bitter, sarcastic attitude.  It was a really unique experience, and since it's become one of my favorite folk albums ever.  However, since then, FJM has gotten bigger and bigger.  When it came to recording this new album, he revealed there were no love songs on it, which shocked me.  But hearing these new singles and this radical new direction, I'm not completely disappointed.

(Here's a classic for y'all)

This album starts off with its title track, “Pure Comedy”.   Misty’s use of little details have always been so great, so this late night tv show intro, while it’s brief, works really nicely.  As far as vocals go, man Misty’s voice just keeps getting warmer and more comfortable sounding than ever.  Lyrically though, it really doesn’t take too long to realize we’re seriously dealing with a new animal completely from Father John Misty.  Quickly, he dives headfirst into this very bleak look at the current state of mankind.  Father John Misty brings in every strange little detail from Iron Deficiency to Higher Power’s to illustrate the shape of the world we live in, and of course his usual biting sense of humor and sarcasm aren’t far behind.  It has a lot in common actually with the title track from “I Love You Honeybear”, and it just as masterfully brings in the topics and moods of this album.  This track, and the many tracks that follow, is certainly word, and it’s far from “Comedy” (but if it was a comedy, it would probably be Night Court of NewsRadio).  I personally LOVE this intro, no it’s not exactly a fun track to listen to, but it’s an interesting shift of style for Father John Misty.  Plus, I love all of the huge orchestrations behind him.  Of course we’re dealing here with a whole lot of political undertones, but seriously who isn’t using political undertones these days.  At the very least though his style makes it a little bit different.  My only real issue with this, and I know this is going to be an issue a lot of people will have, is just how many listens this is going to take to really digest.  This isn’t nearly as inviting as his past work.  Then we have the last line here, “I hate to say it, but each other is all we’ve got”, which may sum up this entire album and Father John Mist’s entire philosophy.  It’s powerful stuff.  Up next is the much easier to swallow “Total Entertainment Forever”.  Right off the bat we’re dealing with a track that you can enjoy right off the first listen.  It’s a more upbeat tune, with a sound much more remniscient of his older work.  I love the fierceness of this, not to say it’s heavy, but it certainly has such a great attitude to this jam that I love so much.  Not to mention, that opening line about having sex every night with Taylor Swift virtually though an oculus rift is pretty damn memorable.  Father John Misty since he’s started using that moniker has always had so much to say, and here is no different.   Here, he sounds almost a little paranoid of machines and technology, saying it feels like someone is living his life for him.  It also continues to have this seriously grand feel to it within these HUGE instrumentals that surround him.  This to an extent, is going to be a difficult listen for some, as it’s very wordy and that’s not going to change any time soon.  Up next it “Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution”.  Now let me just say, there’s a TON of Piano Rock on this album, but thankfully since this is just such a wordy album it feels right at home.  Once again, we’re dealing with heavy political undertones, but if you’re the slightest fan of Father John Misty, that’s not going to be too shocking for you.   There’s also a very theatrical edge to a lot of tunes here, mostly due to the heavy use of orchestral arrangements.  Now, while I stated that a lot of these tunes, including “Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution” are going to take some real sitting with to completely understand, these are very deeply culturally important tracks.  Father John Misty brings things up that a lot of us are afraid to even breach, and he delivers these messages in a seriously passionate way, classy too.  These tracks are also going to take a few pauses here and there just for how much Father John Misty crams into these tracks, and that’s not a bad thing.  But it’s something to sit with, and boy is it rewarding.  “Ballad Of The Dying Man”, and in just about every way, this sounds like a tune directly off of “I Love You Honeybear”.  Once again, we see him really concentrating on this Piano Rock vibe, but it really helps you hone in on Father John Misty’s performance.  Lyrically, here he takes us deep into the thoughts of a man on his death bed (as you may have guessed from the title).  Misty certainly does is it with his own unique lair though, as if I was dying I really don’t think I’d be thinking about hipsters and feminists.  However, Misty sounds so passionate on this one.  As much of a bitter, sarcastic man as he’s always been, he seriously sings with much more feeling than you could ever imagine.  Overall he’s become such a personality that it’s overwhelming.  But it’s wonderful to hear.   Not to mention, that last line here may be one of Misty's finest, as he states  "Eventually the dying man takes his final breath, but first check his news feed to see what he's 'bout to miss.  It occurs to him a little late in the game, we leave as clueless as we came”.  “Birdie” however is the first track here that really doesn’t hit me too hard.  I actually think Father John Misty’s performance on this one is really fantastic and just as heartfelt.  But the production on this one is kinda weird and messy, kinda like “True Affection” on the last album.  With “Birdie’ I’m really not too sure about what Father John Misty was really going for.  I feel like the sort of Radiohead “Kid A” production really doesn’t fit well stylistically.  There are just enough sweet moments here and there to make this one passable, but overall this one barely sticks with me.  But that honestly brings me to my first issue here.  This album is great, but it’s going to take a LOT of sitting, pondering, and 100% to truly enjoy this.

Up next is the 13 minute monolithic folk epic that is “Leaving LA”.  This starts off as one of the most stripped back tracks we’ve heard here so far, and to be honest it really makes you focus on Misty more than usual.  I mean, with a run time of over 13 minutes you can already realize that this one is going to get a little rambly.  However, while it does, one thing it doesn’t get is boring.  It actually makes for some of Father John Misty’s most interesting statements here as well his most puzzling.  Instrumentally, it’s certainly pleasing and very sweet, and it gets even more stunning as the track rolls on and on.  “Leaving LA” overall, is really good.  I dunno if it 100# justifies its length completely, but this really brings up what I’ve already stated about this entire album.  “Pure Comedy” is fantastic, but it’s not nearly as instantly gratifying as some of Father John Misty’s early work.  So if this is your first rodeo with him, this is going to give you mixed results.  But, if you’re familiar with him and his character, this is going to be all gravy for you ladies and gentlemen.    “A Bigger Paper Bag” right off the bat sounds like a much more structured, straight up folk rock song.  I just can’t seem to get over just how much I love these backing instrumentations.  Father John Misty has always had such a way with words, and the opening lines on this one are some of his most shining here.  His lyrics are often puzzling and often demand for you to literally be reading the lyrics while listening.  But it’s certainly worth it, because his performance here is just as stunning and beautiful and as mysterious as the album cover here.  And just like the album cover, most of the time things certainly SOUND ok, but when you dive deeper boy is it ever a facade.   Up next is one of my favorite tracks here, “When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay”.  These piano ballads continue to seriously strike me so hard.  This album is obviously one very long look at the human race.  It’s not usually a very happy journey, as here Father John Misty goes deep into the thought of the God Of Love returning to earth to say "Jesus you didn't leave a whole lot for me, If this isn't hell already, then tell me what the hell is”, only for us humans to respond with “It’s just human nature”.   Also throughout this album, Father John Misty goes back and forth between judging humans as well as playing the roll of defendant as well, trying to come up with some answers for us, usually in his own sarcastic way.  It’s a long journey with him on this album, but if you’re familiar with him and his nature, you’ll love all of this.  “Smoochie” is up next, and honestly, this is a down point for me here.  This one doesn’t even sound like Father John Misty, hell it kinda sounds like a crappy Shins song.  It’s just a little too bouncy and dreaming for my liking.  And it’s a shame because lyrically this one is completely about Father John Misty, with is something we really haven’t heard much of yet.  But this one is just so off from the rest of the album.  There isn’t a memorable hook in sight, and more than anything this just comes off as a crappy b-side from “I Love You Honeybear”.  There are certainly some sweet moments here and there which certainly have been missing from the album, but everything else about “Smoochie” is out of place in the worst way.  But Father John Misty bounces back very quickly with his hugest statement yet, on “Two Wildly Different Perspectives”.  Now, as far as a true statement that’s going to last from this album, this is really the big one.  Instrumentally, this is stripped back and simple, but lyrically this dives deep into the radically different way people look at situations.  Specifically on this one, Father John Misty looks at the the opposing sides of political situations and movements.  This honestly is just a track to seriously make you take a step back and think about the world we live in, and what we’re doing to it by constantly going at war with each other.  There are some awesome Jazzy instrumentals to back this one u as well, and to be honest overall this one just comes off so straightforward and simple to comprehend.  It’s fantastic in every way.

“The Memo” is up next, and this one i just a straight up, nothing fancy folk jam.  filled with more fantastic one liners bleeding with sarcasm.  But this one isn’t nearly as ear catching or as interesting as some of the other tracks here.  Lyrically, yea this is just as sharp and it certainly sticks with the themes of everything else that’s been going on.  Instrumentally though, things do pick up quickly, and I’m glad they did, it certainly makes things much easier to swallow.  Lyrically though, this is certainly getting a whole lot harder to follow.  I’m not sure which side of the Father John Misty spectrum I’m more of a fan of, but this is from from bad now that things have picked up instrumentally.  Plus, some of the weirder moments towards the end of this one are actually really bizarre, but they work so well with the feel of the album.  So yea, I’m certainly down with it.  My only issue still remains that you seriously need to sit with this album from start to finish with a stiff drink or a few cups of coffee.  As the album goes on however, I’m really never too sure what I’m going to hear next.  Which is why “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain” standing at a whopping 9 minutes is just so fantastic.  Here, Father John Misty goes back to his “I Love You Honeybear” days by illustrating himself as this sort of of rock star party boy.  But this is much more than that, no this seems like a mission statement for this entire album.  This whole thought of a “Magic Mountain” where no one gets old and everybody parties works with every theme on this album practically. This one, while it’s long and just as wordy as other tracks, goes deep into vices and the things people do to forget what’s really going on in the world.  And not once does it get boring.  When you look at this album as a whole, this was a really hard album to make work for Father John Misty.  When you look at the subject matter of this entire album, and the length of it, you have to realize just how easily this could have been bloated and quite frankly full of itself.  Which leads us to our finale, the very stripped back “In Twenty Years or So”.    While I haven’t really been bored throughout this album, I do have to say “Pure Album” didn’t HAVE to be so long.  This is a nice finale though, it certainly fits a whole lot of the rest of the album’s themes.  Here, Father John Misty is going off on his usual ramblings, but my goodness are these instrumentals ever heavenly, dare I say hopeful.   But then, just in time for me to say that this sounds hopeful, Misty returns from this instrumental passage to more or less walk us through the apocalypse.  But it turns out really beautifully to be honest, mostly because the focus really isn’t on Misty here, but these orchestrations.  Well done old friend.  

Rating : 8.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Pure Comedy”, “Total Entertainment Forever”, "A Bigger Paper Bag", "When the God of Love Returns There'll Be Hell to Pay"

Overall Thoughts:  Let me just start by saying, if this is you're first time sitting down with Father John Misty, I would seriously recommend going back and listening to his first two albums first.  "Pure Comedy" is massive, and far from funny in any right.  No, here, in 13 overwhelmingly beautiful folk songs, Father John Misty breaks down everything twisted about the current state of the human race.  Starting with current political issues, and ending with of course, our demise.  It's wordy, it's bitter, it's sometimes hilarious and sometimes depressing, but it's most of all seriously thought provoking.  Father John Misty since the release of his last album has proven to be the guy willing to bring up cultural points that we wouldn't think twice about, and he brings them all to the table here.  One other thing, if you have an hour and change to spend on an album, listen to this from start to finish, it'll hit you a whole lot harder then taking a song here and a song there for a spin.   

The New Pornographers - "Whiteout Conditions"

Since the early 2000's The New Pornographers have become one of my favorite artists, which is a term I throw around quite a bit, but I can't help it.  Started off as sort of a one time experiment, The New Pornographers over the years have become absolute titans in the power pop world.  With their 2000 debut "Mass Romantic", The New Pornographers combined thunderous indie riffs with catchy and memorable pop hooks.  Being a super-group, you got a ton of flavors from The New Pornographers, from the more artsy delivery of Dan Bejar's vocals, the the triumphant and surprisingly explosive vocals of Neko Case, as as A.C. Newman's usually cool and collected delivery as well.  Right off the bat, there was a little something for everyone here.  "Mass Romantic" was on the short side, but each song in it's own right was so damn memorable.  Needless to say, this one off experiment by these musicians turned into more or less a real thing.  Their next album, "Electric Version" (my favorite New Pornographers album) showed them dealing with some cleaner production, but most importantly seemed less gimmicky.  Like I said, as fantastic as "Mass Romantic" was, I felt like it had too much of a "one off" feel.  "Electric Version" sounded like New Pornographers really putting their heart into making their own sound.  The result is one of of the catchiest indie records you're going to hear ever, period.  On "Twin Cinema", New Pornographers backed up their already massive cult following with critical claim.  While the material here wasn't as catchy, but was wonderfully written and even more so structured.  They sort of ditched their "Power Pop" label here and focused on a more Indie Rock sound, but it ended up working great for them.  But with every great band, there comes that album that fans don't really like to talk about.  For me, That's 2007's "Challengers".  Tracks here like "All The Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" were FANTASTIC, but overall The New Pornographers seems worn out.  The songwriting wasn't nearly as on point and the energy overall was down.    2010's "Together" however really tuned things around quick for the supergroup.  On this album, The New Pornographers seemed refreshed, and while there wasn't as many exciting tracks, the band doubled down on songwriting and sweet hooks as well as string arrangements.  2013's "Brill Bruisers" was a little different for the Pornographers.  Electronic music had always been something that the Pornographers have toyed with, but not THIS much.  "Brill Bruisers" was a very synth heavy album, but it actually really worked well for them.  The songs were just as catchy and well written, but also seemed a little more hip to the current state of indie.  These new singles, to be frank, are freakin' AWESOME, with The Pornographers sounding triumphant and filled with energy.  Let's talk about the rest of this shall we.

(Let's get in the groove ladies and gentlemen!)

This album starts off with “Play Money”.  Right off the bat, it’s clear that The New Pornographers are going to be sticking very close to the very electronic sound of their last album.  As a matter of fact, this may be the most synthetic sound they’ve worked with, and it really doesn’t come off too bad.  Thankfully however, Neko Case’s vocals bring tons of much needed life into this, and man has her voice aged well.  As far as the feel goes, this is certainly right in the same ball park as some of their older material.  I don’t know if it’s just me, but for me there has always been a very nostalgic, very sophisticated sound to the sound of The New Pornographers.  “Play Money” is smooth though, and to be honest even when Neko breaks out some duel vocals with A.C. Newman it comes off very nicely.  It’s a sweet smart for the album, and more than anything this proves that The New Pornographers are still on top of the power pop world.  My only real issue with this opening is that I wish there was a little more live instrumentation here.  It’s a little cold at times, but it’s still wonderfully up-lifting.  The New Pornographers are just getting started however.  The album’s title track “Whiteout Conditions” is up next, and instantly were dealing with a much bigger sounding atmosphere, and I just get this truly epic pop song feel here.  The synths here come off much more inviting, Blaine Thurier’s influence in The New Pornographers music has just gotten bigger and bigger over the years.  However, this track also has a whole lot more rock influence as well.  “Whiteout Conditions” really took me a few listens to really get into, but man can these guys ever write a hook effortlessly.  I’ve always got this sort of classic rock vibe deep down in the Pornographers music, and it makes me feel so young again listening to their stuff.  So hell yes, this is a brilliant single from one of this generations most important Power Pop bands.  It’s still very chilly sounding, but these verses stick with you so damn much that you forget about that completely.  Now one thing I do have to praise this album for, is just how triumphant it is, and there isn’t a more triumphant moment here than “High Ticket Attractions”.  Newman takes lead vocals here on this one, and to be honest he sounds a whole lot more energetic than he did on “Brill Bruisers”.  This is just so colorful, so absolutely pummeling with happiness and positive energy.  The material so far on this albums has been so solid with an overwhelming sense of unity, that if it continued like this, this could have been a classic.  Obviously the synth and this entire electronic vibe continues to be a HUGE component here, but it really doesn’t come off as cheap or like the band is trying to fit in.  On the contrary, I feel like they actually ushered it into their sound very nicely.  Up next is “This Is The World Of The Theatre”.  Now, one thing we haven’t talked about so far is the absence of Dan Bejar.  This is the first album they’ve done without him, and up to this point it really hasn’t been that much of a factor.  One thing The New Pornographers have done to make up for Dan’s absence is by giving the ladies real room to shine here.  Which honestly, is a HUGE plus, Neko Case and Kathryn Calder are both fantastic singers.  This track is just so peppy and adorable sounding, so much so that this MAY be my favorite Neko Case lead New Pornographers track I’ve heard in ages (especially since her work on the last album was just so underwhelming).  There continues to be a serious old school vibe to this, and very much more of a rock oriented feel as well, it really takes me back to their “Together” days.  Not to mention, The New Pornographers continue to proves that they’re seriously fantastic at writing stunning pop songs, if this hook doesn't stick in your head all day I feel bad for you buddy.  So far, this album’s been all good by me.  

“Darling Shade” is up next, which brings us right back into that much more electronic vibe.  One thing that I’m not really sold on when it comes to some of these more electronic sounding songs, is the drums work.  Sometimes it’s fine, but other times it comes off as a drum machine, and the results aren’t usually good.  As this track rolls on however, it certainly gets better.  By this point in the album though, honestly I’m starting to miss Dan Bejar, a lot.  While the Pornographers have certainly held their own without him, Dan certainly brought something special to the table with his unique voice and songwriting.  However, The New Pornographers continue to sound very unified, and I certainly love some of the group vocals and heavier guitar licks here.  Plus, I still stand by my word that this seriously comes off a little more youthful sounding than Brill Bruisers.  “Second Sleep” however, is this albums first real hiccup.  Right off the bat, this one really rubs me the wrong way.  The glitchy vocals and production do not do the slightest bit of justice to their sound.  Remember earlier when I said that they ushered in the more electronic sounds to their music really nicely?  Well on “Second Sleep”, that’s really not the case at all.  Here, everything sort of comes off cheesy and i just sounds like the Pornographers are seriously trying way too hard to be something they certainly are not.  Newman’s verse really doesn’t help anything either, because this mar be the most boring vocals I’ve heard on a New Pornographers track since some of the lesser tracks on “Challengers”.  Instrumentally, there are certainly some really good moments, the drumming here is actually really solid.  But everything else about “Second Sleep” comes off seriously rushed to the point where I can barely concentrate on it.  “Coliseums” has a lot of the same issues.  You know, at first I really liked this track, I think the vocals here are fantastic and I love the more upbeat feel to everything.  But is it just me, or is the production on this track seriously lacking.  Like, it sounds so tinny and low-fi, but not even in a good way.  Once again, this one comes off really rushed.  Earlier I was getting this feeling that they really took their time with a lot of the material here.  But this track overall, even though the production gets better, doesn’t even come off as a New Pornographers track.  I dunno what it DOES come off as, but this isn’t something I was expecting to hear.  Vocally, this is totally fine.  Even Instrumentally this one works, but their really is just something missing.  Thankfully, The Pornographers do get right back on track with “We’ve Been Here Before”.  This one is armed with a strangely elegant intro, and to be honest these are some of the strongest vocals I’ve heard in a while all around from the band.  “We’ve Been Here Before” overall is just as HUGE sounding as some of the singles here.  It’s icy and synth heavy but it’s also easily the most beautiful track here.  Personally, I feel like Dan Bejar would have absolutely ruled over this track if he was around, but as far as a late album tune goes, this is really stunning.  I honestly really wasn’t expecting a slower track here to be so powerful and beautiful, and overall this would be a solid direction for the band to go in in the future.  

“Juke” starts the last leg of of this new New Pornographers album off.  Now, while this is much more up front and much more of a straightforward sort of track for The New Pornographers (there’s almost a “Twin Cinema” vibe here), this really doesn’t come off good at all.  The instrumentals are fine, with much more live instrumentations.  But oh my GOD, lyrically and as far as the performances go here, this is easily the most forgettable and quite frankly most annoying track here.  Even the slight moments that the vocals DO come off nicely, it’s made annoying by this repetitive hook.  Not gonna lie guys, this one’s pretty bad.  “Clockwise” however is a complete turn around, being quite possibly the iciest and synth heavy track here.  But this one, works out really nicely.  I can’t stress enough just how well some of these more upbeat tracks have been working out for The Pornographers here.  Tracks like “Clockwise” come off so youthful and energetic, even exciting.  For the most part, overall the band did a really good job making up for Dan Bejar’s absence, but I certainly do still miss him.  But overall, I feel like when The New Pornographers just don’t try to do too much with the electronic element and let them come freely to their sound things end up working up smoothly.  “Avalanche Alley” is our finale here, and honestly it worried me with this slow start.  But it picks up really quickly and nicely however, once again showing off a little more of a straight up indie sound than anything.  It works out really nicely for them though, and “Avalanche Alley” ends up being the most focused sounding track since the earlier tunes here.  Seriously though, where the hell was THIS sound for the entire album.  If they gave me a few more tracks like this, this album would have SERIOUSLY matched up with the bands classic material easily.  But I digress, this is a really fantastic finale, and it actually gets me really excited to hear what The New Pornographers have for us in the future.  

Rating: 7.8/10

Give A Listen To - “High Ticket Attractions”, “This Is The World Of The Theatre”, “Whiteout Conditions”, “Avalanche Alley”

Overall Thoughts:  Now, I'm going to be honest.  When I first heard the first few singles on this album, I thought this was going to go toe to toe with albums like "Mass Romantic" and "Electric Version", I really did.  In the long run, it doesn't really, but it's certainly far from a bad album.  It's actually quite good.  It has more energy and a much more youthful sound than "Brill Bruisers", and some of the singles here are easily some of the best they've put out in years.  However, Dan Bejar is truly missed throughout this album.  His distinct voice and stunning lyrics that brought us so many classic New Pornographers' songs was seriously missed here.   The New Pornographers did bounce back nicely though, giving much more focus to Kathryn Calder and Neko Case, which is always welcome.  Overall, yea I may have expected a little bit more, but this is still a really solid New Pornographers album.  

Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand

Lets me just start this one off by saying, sorry!  I had a few more reviews planned for this week, namely Freddie Gibbs, Pharmakon, Lydia Ainsworth, and that new Chaz Bundick project.  However, I was on vacation and didn't do so well with scheduling once I got back!  Next week is a big week however!  Anyways, lets move on!

Since the early 2000's, metal music to me has mostly centered around Mastodon.  While I usually go for the much grander, heavier Black Metal artist, I've always loved Mastodon's musicianship and creativity that they put into their albums.  In 2002, they steamrolled their way into the metal scene with "Remission".  While this album wasn't their most polished work, it showed their fierce instrumentals and unbelievable visuals to the world.  "Remission" quickly showed us that Mastodon at the end of the day were the brutal sludge metal band the world had been looking for since the downfall of bands like Kyuss. 2004's "Leviathan" was bigger, grander, and even more brilliant.  Mastodon's production levels skyrocketed here, and while they were still making dirty sludgy metal did it ever sound fantastic.  While this had tracks that would go on to define their sound, like "Blood and Thunder" and "Megalodon", there were also new elements of progressive rock as well as other metal genres.  Mastodon were growing by the day.  In 2006, they released my favorite record in their discography, the INCREDIBLE "Blood Mountain".  On this one, Mastodon wrote some of their absolutely heaviest material yet, with explosive, bone crushing tracks like "The Wolf Is You" and "Crystal Skull".  What made this album though was the amount of catchy hooks they used as well on tracks like "Colony of Birchmen", without really sacrificing any heaviness.  The end result was some of their most wonderfully crafted tunes yet.  Up until this point, Mastodon seemed unstoppable.  However, in 2009 they released "Crack The Skye", which honestly I'm not a fan of.  Instrumentally this may actually be their most sound album yet, but as far as the progressive elements go and they incredibly convoluted and ridiculous story line, it was NOT for me.  2011's "The Hunter" was even further away from the classic Mastodon formula.  There were great tracks here like "Stargasm" and "Dry Bone Valley", but much of the rest of the album wasn't nearly as fierce and as conceptual as early Mastodon releases.  This may be unpopular opinion, but I actually dig Mastodon's 2014 album "Once More 'Round The Sun" a little more than "The Hunter".  To an extent, these tracks were certainly much bigger overproduced, but it certainly worked on tracks like "Halloween" and "The Motherload".  Since 2014 though, Mastodon has been pretty quiet.  Troy Sanders had that God awful spin off project Gone Is Gone, but outside of that the boys have been quiet.  Mastodon's new singles have been a wide range of some of their worst material ever, and some of their best stuff since "Leviathan", so lets get into this shall we?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsdIO8RHMTc
(This one takes me back man)

This album starts us off with “Sultan’s Curse”.  This is certainly an interesting intro, and it’s probably the darkest thing we’ve heard from the band in a few albums.  Mastodon sound patient as well, and certainly aren’t trying to blare into anything over produced too fast.  The atmosphere on “Sultan’s Curse” is actually solid, an when that main riff hits it’s actually really not all that bad.  The back and forth performances between Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds actually comes off nicely as well.  To be honest, I think the BIG element here that makes this all work, is this undeniable sense of unity.  I haven’t heard this much of a cohesive Mastodon since “Blood Mountain”.  It continues to be on the lighter side of things, but this really isn’t that bad at all.  The confidence is certainly there in the riffs, especially in Brann Dailor’s vocals which have come so far.  Of course, the instrumentals are super complex and layered, the imagery is over the top, the solos are wild, but honestly I can’t really remember the last time I had so much fun with a Mastodon track.  “Show Yourself” is up next, and this one really took some time for me to appreciate.  I mean once again, this is super easy on the ears when you consider just how vicious Mastodon was for some time.   But if you’re familiar with their recent material, this really isn’t too bad.  They continue here to sound like a unit, and they still sound like they really planned this album out pretty well (Especially more than their last two albums).  Now, I know some people are going to get right into that chorus and pull it apart and call it too catchy.  But to be honest if this is going to be the future for Mastodon, it’s really not THAT bad.  Yes, it’s not as sludgy or as explosive, but it’s far from terrible, and it’s certainly better than some of the deep album cuts on their last few albums.  Up next, we have “Precious Stones”, and from this opening riff I’m not gonna lie: I feel like this is the epitome of Mastodon trying way too hard.  Brent Hind’s vocals here, which I usually feel like are sort of a secret weapon of Mastodon’s music, come off a little awkward here.  Plus, the chorus chorus here isn’t nearly as interesting or as catchy as the earlier ones here.  “Precious Stones” just reminds me of way too many tracks on “The Hunter”, specifically the tracks that were more or less nothing but Mastodon trying to be heavy desperately.  The solos here don’t have nearly as much heart as some of the earlier ones here, and overall this one really doesn’t do anything for me.  “Steambreather” on the other hand, actually sounds grimy and dirty sounding.  While the lack of heaviness is still sort of an issue with me, “Strambreather” actually comes off really interesting.  Brann’s vocals over the years have gotten so incredibly less awkward that it’s not even funny.  This one has a really great pacing to everything, and let me tell you, when Mastodon really pace themselves, the results are pretty fantastic.  Then we have the chorus, which is easily the most passionate and catchy chorus we’ve heard so far here, and probably one of their most catchy in years.  Every instrumental on “Steambreather” has a very huge, lurking vibe to it, to the point where I’m never really sure whats going to happen next.  Also, the imagery in the lyrics as well have been an absolute home run.  Tracks like this give me nothing but hope for Mastodon in the future.  

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

“Roots Remain” is up next, and right off the bat is much spacier sounding.  All I have to say is, if I have to sit through ANOTHER progressive Metal jam by Mastodon, I’m not going to be very happy.  While this is certainly heavy, this track also comes off as a little sloppy.  Worst of all however is that chorus.  Brann’s chorus here might just be the most corny, overblown, and laughably cheesy hook I’ve heard from Mastodon in years.  And while I get it, metal is supposed to be a little cheesy and over-the-top, this ain’t for me.  I feel like “Roots Remain” is Mastodon trying way too hard to be edgy.  It’s a real shame honestly, because some of these instrumentals are seriously wild as hell and are actually seriously heavy.  But all of these different movements and passages and corny references are going to continue to water them down.  And strangely enough, if you dissect this all, you’ll realize this to an extent is the Mastodon formula that got them sorts of praise years ago.  But it worked for them because of how vicious they were. “Word To The Wise” is up next, and once again, instrumentally this is seriously explosive.  But as far as vocals go, once again this one really doesn’t click with me at all.  I wouldn’t say there’s anything really awful about this one, but “Word To The Wise” sounds like it was kinda thrown together at the last minute.  But once again I’m seriously conflicted by this, because instrumentally there are some ridiculous moments here.  The solo’s and Brann’s drum performance here are some of the best I’ve heard yet, and if I was more into these vocals this would have been a serious knock-out.  Thankfully though, Mastodon get it right on “Ancient Kingdom”.  This intro every time I hear it gives me the absolute chills.  This track is just the right blend of grand and triumphant sounding, a sound that I feel like Mastodon could work so well with.  While the vocals here are still a little over the top, hell, so is everything else here, so it works great.  Little details like the bell chiming in the back of this absolutely gigantic hook work so well for Mastodon.  It really comes down to just finding a balance with Mastodon honestly. The instrumentals are certainly all here, and they can still write brilliant tracks when they focus, even vocally when they focus they can still sound fantastic.  The solos here are fantastic, and overall “Ancient Kingdom” makes me just so damn happy, it’s easily the most epic track here.  When it comes to “Clandestiny”, instrumentally, I continue to be really pleased with how this is is all coming off.  Troy Sanders here sounds OK.  But while they’re isn't anything truly horribly bad about this track, there really isn’t anything that jaw dropping either.  This just comes off sounding like a whole lot of older Mastodon tracks that were fantastic then, just so much more watered down.  I actually seriously love the very grand atmosphere on display here, as well as some of the percussion add-ins that actually don’t come off cheesy at all.  Even the synths, which is something I was dreading the arrival of so freakin much, don’t really end up coming off OK.  “Clandestiny” like a great chunk of the album, really isn’t anything too memorable, but isn’t nearly as bad as the direction they’ve been going in the past few years.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0Y7xZJE-c

Thankfully, Mastodon really bring their A-Game with some of these last few tracks.  “Andromeda” is a track that really caught me off guard the first time I heard it, and it continues to every time.  It almost has a Mathcore vibe in that very Dillinger Escape Plan sounding intro.  Quite frankly, I really didn’t think Mastodon had THIS in them.  “Andromeda” is heavy in parts, and epic when it needs to be, and it ends up coming off sounding like an old school Mastodon track.  It’s intense, but it’s also really well produced, and some of those vocal harmonies here work seriously great.  Instrumentally, it’s over the top with all sorts of solos, but HELL yes is it great to hear.  “Andromeda” is intense, brutal, and THE track of the album.  “Scorpion Breath” sort of another throwaway however.  Right from this intro, this sounds like the overblown progressive bull-crap that Mastodon was shoving down our throats on “Crack The Skye”.  The thing is though, as much as I couldn’t get into that album, I respected it for being instrumentally wowing.  “Scorpion Breath” on the other hand is much messier and very jumbled sounding.  Once again, there’s nothing here that I find to be seriously terrible, but this one also doesn’t make Mastodon look nearly as good as they believe it does.  We’ve made it to the end folks, and this one was really shocking for me.  “Jaguar God” starts off with an acoustic intro, and usually when I hear one of these coming from a vicious band like Mastodon I run the other way.  However, this track has a sort of mystic folkiness that quite frankly really rubbed me the right way.  And to be honest, every instrumental here comes off so epic.  The vocals here aren’t exactly what I expected, being much smoother and softer.  But to be honest, overall as far as a memorable finale goes, this is one of the most epic I’ve heard in years from Mastodon.  The keys in the background are a nice touch as well.  Now, let me just say this, I’m usually the harshest of critics when it comes to progressive rock influence.  But on “Jaguar God”, I think it comes off incredibly well.  As soon as the second “movement” pops in here, I feel like everything seriously clicks.   All of the sounds that Mastodon were going for earlier, the grandness, the epic passages, it all culminates right here, and ends up resulting in some of the most exciting moments here.  I love how the acoustic riff sticks around even when things get heavy, and as lead vocal duties switch from member to member nothing gets sloppy.  Even the heavier moments that pop in later on come off seriously vicious, and may be some of the heaviest moments of the entire album.  So let me just wrap this up by saying this.  This is far from a perfect album, and I do have a lot of minor issues here and there.  But I still think that this is probably the best thing Mastodon has done since “Blood Mountain”.   If you’re a fan of their more progressive stuff however, you’re going to enjoy this even more than I did.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ry7FStwey4

Rating 7.5/10

Give A Listen To: “Sultan’s Curse”, “Steambreather”, “Jaguar God”, "Andromeda"

Overall Thoughts:  Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that Mastodon are back to their old ways.  But this is probably the closest thing I've felt to an actual Mastodon album since "Blood Mountain".  While yes, the vocals are a BIG issue with me, and I feel like the viciousness has completely died down in Mastodon, there's also tons to enjoy here.  The songwriting for the most part is solid, and when they don't try to being something they're not, the instrumentals come off just as heavy as they once were.  This album actually gives me a little hope for the future of Mastodon.  But like I said earlier, if you're a fan of their more progressive stuff, this is going to be a whole lot more enjoyable for you.  

Creeper - Eternity In Your Arms

Creeper are an Horror-Punk band from England who up until recently really hadn't heard much from them.  But of course being an old school Horror-Punk fan, hearing these guys were coming out with their full length debut, I had to check them out.  When it came to their debut, self titled EP, I thought it was just alright.  "VCR" and "Into The Black" were solid tunes, blending more melodic sounds with the dark tinges of Horror-Punk.  But my issues came listening to the other tracks here.  People were comparing Creeper to the early days of AFI and the great Alkaline trio, two comparisons I could totally see.  But for me, Creeper's sound was a little TOO much like these greats.  Thankfully Creeper actually did a whole lot of improving for their "The Callous Heart" EP.  Now, I'm not saying this EP rewrote anything.  But Creeper were sounding less like their influences and writing VERY catchy tunes like "Lie Awake" and "Allergies".  On their "The Stranger" EP, Creeper continued to get seriously good at crafting these punks songs.  "Black Mass" was a bit too corny for my liking outside of that explosive chorus, and they still sounded maybe a LITTLE too much like their contemporaries, but I sure had trouble saying no.  Now, I've been a little iffy on these new singles, there are some good moments to them, but I don't wanna get to far into them.  Let's talk about Creeper's debut full length album.

“Black Rain” starts this album off, and right off the bat we have Creeper sort of playing to their influences with some pianos right out of the book of Alkaline Trio.  The opening speech here as well is sort of cheesy, not terrible, but I certainly feel like we move past THAT stage in Emo.  I digress, because when that main riff comes ripping in Creeper don’t sound too bad at all.  The riff have a little more energy than I’m used to hearing from Creeper.  And while these vocals were clearly ripped kicking and screaming out of Davey Havok circa 2005, they actually come off really nicely.  While Creeper aren’t exactly rewriting anything big as far as modern punk standards go, this really isn’t that bad.  What Creeper lack in originality, they make up for with BIG personalities.  And my God, can these guys ever write a gigantic hook that’s just memorable as hell.  I feel like I’ve reached an age limit where this is a little weird to enjoy THIS much, but as a one time fan of early 2000’s mall-punk, I’m just eating this all up.  And while I feel that 90% of anybody who would seriously enjoy this is wearing a Suicide Squad T-Shirt and has a chain on their wallet, I’m digging this.  “Poisen Pens” is up next, and right off the bat you have to give Creeper credit for coming such a long way as far as shear heaviness goes.  This has a little metal core influence for all of you Day To Remember fans.  But I think what’s really going to set Creeper apart from their contemporaries is that songwriting.  The verse are just fine and all, but these absolutely massive hooks that Creeper bring in are untouchable.  “Poison Pens” ain’t really half bad, but then again this is coming from a dude whose hear picks up a bit whenever he heard that Set Your Goals are touring.  It’s upbeat, and while it’s certainly over the top and clinging desperately to every modern punk stereotype, it’s still decent.  Creeper continue to stick to the heavier side of things with “Suzanne”, at least as far as their sound is concerned.  Vocalist Will Gould here whether he knows it or not is doing his best Matt Skiba impression, it’s a solid one though.  Creeper continue in their lyrics to bring up horror elements and gothic imagery, which honestly acts as such a big plus for them.  Then, once again, “Suzanne” has an absolutely GIGANTIC hook.  I’m not saying this is going to be anyones “Album Of The Year”, but as far as the watered down, current state of pop punk goes, this really isn’t that bad at all.  Up next, “Hiding With Boys” is a little smoother.  Creeper continue to wear their influences pretty blatantly on their shoulder, which moving further I really can see being a huge issue.  These huge hooks though seriously keep me interested in this album, probably way much more than I should be.  Creeper however seriously need to change things up a little bit though.  They honestly have a really solid foundation, but I can see a lot of these tracks getting stale quickly.  While a lot of these tracks are armed with monstrous choruses, I need a little more at the end of the day. Plus, the repeated “LOVING YOU IS KILLING ME” line is so damn corny I can’t tell you enough.  However, Will Gould counters that nicely with his actually cool, very goth like performance of “lay on your bed, lie to me”, right out of any classic goth band playbook.  “Hiding With Boys” is GOOD, but Creeper need to get focused and not let their sound get out of whack really quickly, cause this could SO easily be completely unlistenable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmDiNAIccW8

Remember when I said this could SO easily be unlistenable?  Yea I should have bit my damn tongue.  “Misery” is up next, and ohhhhhh boy this slower, more acoustic side of Creeper is not for me.  Now, call me crazy, but is Will Gould going for his best Jesse Lacy impression here?  If he is, trust me buddy it’s not flattering anyone.  Moving on!  While the first few tracks on this album sounded so fresh and interesting for the genre, I feel like “Misery” has every element in it that make modern punk so unbelievably boring.  This one is just cheesy and ridiculous, and way too overly emotional.  And while technically this one has just as big of a chorus, it really doesn’t stick with me nearly as much.  “Down Below” is up next, and at the very least Creeper are back to a more upbeat sound.  But c’mon seriously this literally sounds like something from Alkaline Trio’s “Crimson” or AFI’s “Sing The Sorrow”.  I mean it’s certainly not BAD, but this just comes off seriously less original sounding.  Creeper once again do make up for that with a whole lot of catchy songwriting however.  It honestly makes “Down Below” fairly enjoyable.  Once again, this certainly isn’t too bad, but two things I have to bring up.  One, Creeper seriously need to work on making their material sound a little more original, and not like an Anberlin B-Side (oh c’mon I can’t be the only one who remembers them).  Two, and most importantly, they need to stick to the heavier sound of that we got to hear earlier.  I certainly get my wish on “Room 239”.  We’re back to a heavier sound for sure, and instrumentally this is solid.  But is it just me, or are the vocals and songwriting not nearly as catchy or enjoyable as earlier material here?  The group vocals are OK at best, but even lyrically this one is just bland.  More or less, “Room 309” is exactly what I was worried about.  And up next, what do you know, we have another acoustic cut, and right off the bat I’m not feeling it at all.  “Crickets” has Hannah Greenwood taking over vocal duties, and honestly as far as a ballad goes she sounds great.  But man, I feel like as far as lyrics go this is rehashing every single cheesy line from the early 2000’s punk scene.  There isn’t anything catchy, exciting, or even actually emotional for me to grab a hold of.  “Crickets” isn’t good, at all.  

“Darling” thankfully shows Creeper getting right back on track.  Here, at least the band sound fairly confident, and the horror punk influence has never felt stronger.  To be honest, it’s one of the strongest elements here.  While this album seriously got dull for a while, Creeper are starting to rebound nicely.  This still is really not that bad of an album at all, and if they expanded on some of these ideas I could see plenty of great stuff for these guys.  “Winona Forever” on the other hand isn’t nearly as punchy and enjoyable.  I do like how Creeper are sticking with the more upbeat material but this one just seems a little more disjointed, and even song structure-wise this one seems choppy.  Once again there are certainly good elements to “Winona Forever”, but this one could have been better, hell even the chorus here barely holds up.  Which leads me to the shockingly solid finale, “I Choose To Live”.  Now when I heard these opening, very theatrical instrumentals I instantly started to worry.  In cases like this, this could have been seriously awful or actually pretty darn good.  THIS, comes off honestly pretty darn good.  Nothing here comes off cheesy, this actually comes off really sweet in a sort of Gothy, “Nightmare Before Christmas” way.  It sort of has a vibe of The World Inferno Friendship Society (who I might be their sole fan of, and that’s fine by me) with the whole over the top feel, but yea it works really nicely.  This is mostly because here, Creeper find the perfect balance of paying tribute to their influences while not imitating them completely.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA6UA1C6F1k

Rating : 7.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Black Rain”, “Poison Pen”, “Suzanne”, “Darling”

Overall Thoughts:  Like I said earlier, I probably enjoyed this a whole lot more than I should have.  While this may be blaring from every Hot Topic in America for the next year or so, as far as modern "Punk" standards go, this is probably the best thing going.  The songwriting is sharp, and Creeper are keeping things more upbeat and heavy for the most part which is great for them.  But the real treasure here comes in these gigantic choruses, Creeper can certainly write a hook.  So yea, if they can maybe stop playing to imitate some of their obvious heroes, they could do something even bigger and better.