25 December 2011
There must have been something about playing a part in the rise of the supposed “neo-soul” movement at the turn of century which made some of its most prominent progenitors disappear for a while. Cursed by leaks and record label issues, Bilal, debuting with a buzz in 2001, only made it back with a follow-up [...]
24 December 2011
Fred Bridges, Ben Knight, and Robert Eaton; three names that probably don’t come up in many conversations about classic soul, but I’ll tell you why they should. Because together they are the Brothers of Soul, and recorded a collection of songs that came to be released as an album called I Guess That Don’t Make [...]
23 December 2011
Usually people that qualify as “over-achievers” are the sort we normal people politely tolerate in public as we silently curse them behind their backs. It’s not fair that these talented individuals are able to maintain their 4.0 grade point averages while starting on the varsity squad, while the rest of us struggle to do one [...]
22 December 2011
The Art of Fresh is a duo based out of Toronto composed of producer extraordinaire Slakah the Beatchild and emcee D.O. Slakah’s neo-soul inspired beats lay glaze over the cerebral and relentless rhymes of D.O., who has been deemed “True Freestyle King” by XXL. They don’t just hand those out, as D.O. has the world [...]
21 December 2011
Willie Isz is the brainchild of producer Jneiro Jarel and Khujo Goodie (of Goodie Mobb). Like another experimental hip hop duo which features a member of Goodie Mobb, Willie Isz is sort of like Gnarls Barkley, except with a much larger dose of LSD. If you’re not familiar with Jneiro Jarel he’s got very spacey [...]
20 December 2011
Mogwai aren’t the youngest act. Their debut album Young Team took the post-rock atheneum by storm garnering praise from listeners and critics alike. Like many acts, Mogwai has been semi-burdened [...]
19 December 2011
Now more than ever: the dumber the better. When I say dumb I’m not looking for any kind of calculation, marketing angle or scheme, just sincerity and bands, not goddamn laptops hooked up to the PA. Mean it. I love Pavement as much as the next guy, but come on—their smug “we’re not trying” thing [...]
18 December 2011
Right off the bat, let’s have the low-down on Skeletal Lamping from of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes: “this record is my attempt to bring all of my… fantasies, ruminations and observations to the surface, so that I can better dissect and understand their reason for being in my head.” If you have concluded from that [...]
17 December 2011
Diamond District member yU follows up on his solid 2010 effort Before Taxes with a more mature effort in The Earn. His sophomore effort sees him go more into darker and grittier territory both in sound and substance, and this fits his subdued persona particularly well. yU uses sublime production as tension releasing stress balls, [...]
16 December 2011
The Roots aren’t the only quality hip hop band out there, Boston’s own Crown City Rockers’ body of work is ready to present its case. Their 2004 album, Earthtones, is a genre-blending mix of hip hop and soul that follows in the hallowed footsteps of such pioneers as De La Soul and A Tribe Called [...]
15 December 2011
There’s just something alluring about the long, straight roads and endless wheat fields of America’s interior. Nebraska isn’t a usual vacation spot per se, but a certain intrigue exists within the never-ending expanse of the flatlands. I don’t know what it is; perhaps because it used to be a symbol for discovery that bridged the [...]
14 December 2011
In a 4th quarter that has been pretty stacked for new music, King Krule (formerly Zoo-Kid) adds to the 2011 catalogue with his debut release. The self-titled, five-track EP is a nice collection of songs from the 17 year-old Brit singer / songwriter who has captured the attention of many music bloggers. The style of [...]
13 December 2011
Aaron Jerome wants to let the music do the talking for him. A fellow Londoner like wonderboy James Blake, Jerome’s approach is kin to JB’s early muse: real drum and bass. Rather than recording the vocals, Jerome recruits the perfect Blake doppelganger, Sampha, and Swede vocalist Yukimi Nagano to help. It’s evident that he’s more [...]
12 December 2011
Remember when the iPhone first came out? Everyone understood there wasn’t enough need to occasion so much public email checking and photo-flipping—such acts were symptoms of the new. The iPhone owners on trains and in restaurants were partially into the idea of conspicuous consumption—check it out, I got the new shit!—and partially inured by the [...]
