Album Reviews
Lupe Fiasco | The Cool
If you like Kanye, N.E.R.D., Common, and Blackstar - you will absolutely love Lupe Fiasco. Lupe has managed to finesse me into both his fan club and his bandwagon when I saw him perform live at University of Delaware. He’s got skill and the great thing is - he’s still young and growing!
In Absentia | Porcupine Tree
For some reason Porcupine Tree seems to be only known to the music elitists, and not even all of them. They are one of the few bands out there that have managed to blend superb composition with accessibility and top notch recordings. In Absentia (2002) is widely regarded as Porcupine Tree’s masterpiece and belongs in the library of any self-respecting obnoxious listener.
Immortal Technique | 3rd World
Immortal Technique can be best described as a hardcore underground hip-hop emcee with raw style; he uses simple beats and his lyrics can be downright caustic at times, but mostly everything he does has a message. [thx, Schiavoni] And that message is so engrossing, you can’t help but listen to more of what he has to say. Last week, he dropped his 3rd full album entitled The 3rd World (2008).
Station | Russian Circles
I know I just reviewed Russian Circles’s first album, and yes I posted it only a couple days after Station was released… but now I’ve had about a month for Station to grow on me. I was a little unsure about it the first few listens, but now I can say with confidence that Station is one of the best instrumental rock albums I own.
Hezekiah | I Predict A Riot
How can I not give props to a Delaware-raised former choirboy turned producer, emcee? It says in his bio that, “Once he came out of highschool, he linked up with arguably the only Hip Hop crew to ever exist in Delaware,” during that time. Who’s arguing? I still don’t see any Hip Hop crews here in Delaware!
A Pyramid For The Living | Del Rey
I have a semi-daily ritual of laying down on couch, popping in my headphones, and cranking some good music. Some people like come home from a long day of work and zone out to some TV or maybe grab a cold-one. I like to just lay down and relax to music. Del Rey, another great instrumental rock band from Chicago, is one of those bands that’s perfect for said scenario. It’s very chill, yet busy, instrumental rock.
Resonance | Mad at Gravity
If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s finding good bands after they’ve broken up. Maybe the majority of Americans don’t like good music, or maybe I’m just slow to catch on to things. Mad at Gravity’s story goes something like that described in my last post on Pulse Ultra. Good band, wrong exposure, no more band. But that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on them completely.
Head Space | Pulse Ultra
Heavy guitar, a solid and melodic singer, occasional odd-metered rhythms, intricate compositions… enticing? It certainly got my attention. If only their record label had their head on straight. Despite the metric oriented decisions made at record labels, Pulse Ultra’s only major release, Head Space (2002), is one of my favorite albums. In fact, this album has three tracks about 10 plays shy of hitting my 25 most played tracks in iTunes.
DJ Krush | Stepping Stones
Can you imagine the best of what hip hop has to offer lyrically mashed up with what the best international + Japanese music has to offer beat/tempo wise? That’s what I heard when I first got a listen of DJ Krush’s compilation entiled Stepping Stones - The Self-Remixed Best (2006). It’s wicked different from the U.S. based hip hop we’re used to!
TRY! | John Mayer Trio
For those of you that have met me, this may come as a surprise that I happen to own a couple John Mayer albums. Honestly, most of his music is too mainstream for me which is why it came to me as a surpise when I heard him say Stevie Ray Vaughan was one of his biggest influences. I didn’t buy it for a second… that is until I heard TRY! - John Mayer Trio Live In Concert.
