James Blake "Love What Happened Here"

The newcomer of the year will wrap up his 2011 output by giving us a treat via an EP titled "Love What Happened Here". This could be his version of a holiday gift to his audiophile fans. The title track to the EP is very similar to the material that was floating around before his debut LP "James Blake". The song has the futuristic warped sound that recalls "The Bells Sketch" EP minus the catchy gospel organ that make an occasional appearance. This was the direction that I expected James Blake's first album to take, however the man had other ideas; decided to surprise us by choosing a more stripped down road. I do hope that he approaches 2012 with the same vigor, keeping us on our toes, not knowing what to expect from his next move. 

Lana Del Rey "Born To Die".

“Born To Die” the new song from Lana Del Rey doesn’t stray too far away from her breakthrough song “Video Games”. The gorgeous string arrangements continue to play a primary role; they sound terrific and enhance the melancholy mood that is quickly becoming Del Rey’s signature sound. The “here there” and “louder” vocal samples that introduce the song are nicely juxtaposed against the baroque instruments.  If I am not mistaken those exact samples were used in early 90s hip-hop songs such as Nas “It Aint Hard to Tell” and they were extensively used by the late J Dilla.  The lyrics of “Born To Die” yearn for lost love and are delivered in a melodramatic style. There are lines about “walking through city streets” and “kissing in the pouring rain”, standard cliché’s intended to play with the listener’s sentiment.

Overall I like the song, even though it makes me wonder if Lana Del Rey herself is merely a product of a genius marketing and production team. Something tells me that she is a carefully constructed pop singer aimed at the current indie audience as well as the general popular music consumers, both whom tend to romanticize the past. I hope that I am wrong because it will be pretty damn impressive if she was the main creative driving force behind her image and her sound. 

Radiohead "Bloom Jamie XX Rework Part 3"

This remix of Radiohead's  "Bloom" by the uber talented Jamie XX is a serious banger that transforms the original track into an insane 8minute dance track. The last remains of the original are the bass line at the very beginning and accompanied  by the Thom Yorke sample. After that, Jamie XX takes that vocal sample manipulates into a ghostly cry and surrounds it with his signature bass and drums. The tempo and rhythm shifts around, making the listen that much more adventurous and exhilarating. Of the "King of Limbs" remixes that I have heard, this one is easily my favorite one.

M83 "Wait"

So I spent the last several days intently listening to the new M83 album titled “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”. Going through this album from start till finish is a daunting task that is tedious but is ultimately rewarding. “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” is a very ambitious double album that is consciously over the top with its extroverted and bombastic production. Anthony Gonzalez, the maestro behind M83 set out on creating a “very, very, very epic album”, one that wrestles with your emotions and attempts to transport you through an experience that functions as an escape from the mundane and bleak reality. With a running time of 71 minutes, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ is cohesive in atmosphere. It borrows a lot from the aesthetics from the 80s, Anthony Gonzalez does a fantastic job of capturing the vintage sounds, updating them and blowing them up even more, taking them to another level.

“Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ is far from perfect, there are some moments that could have been left out but they still do not deter the listening experience. The large majority of the record is excellent, but I am going to focus on the song “Wait”. I believe this is the best song on “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” and that is by a very close margin. Other contenders include the first single “Midnight City” as well as the explosive “This Bright Flash”.  “Wait” is a cathartic experience that starts the journey with an acoustic guitar strumming some simple chords. The vocals are whispery and the lyrics are spare and vague enough to be profound. The phrase “No Time’ appears twice and the first time around it builds some tension to the track. However during the second time around “No Time” is repeated over and over in a mantra like fashion, simultaneously building up to an insanely powerful crescendo that is made even more dramatic by some distorted ghostly vocal effects The drums take center stage, powerfully played, sending a jolt of adrenaline running through your veins. Eventually the acoustic guitar gently guides the song back down, ending everything back where it started.

Song of the day is "Wait"

The Roots "Make My" Featuring Big Krit

At this point I really do not know how The Roots do it. The best live band on late night television somehow manages to squeeze time out of their heavy schedule. Last year the band gave us “How I Got Over”, a very good album that was almost flawlessly executed from start till finish. Subsequently the Roots collaborated with John Legend for a covers album, produced music for other artists and now they have announced another album due out later this year titled “Undun”. The album is intended to be a “concept album” about Redford Stephens, an inner city youth who finds himself caught up in a life of crime even though those weren’t his intentions. The first song that comes from the album is called “Make My” featuring Big Krit.

The sound of “Make My” is a spot on reflection of a quote that I read from ?uestlove recently, he states “The music is band orientated with an eye on the moody cinematic”. Indeed this song is embodies those characteristics; “Make My” has the atmosphere of an urban noir film. The production is great, with a great clarity and restraint throughout. Each instrument is clearly heard and it plays it role without wasting a single note. Big Krit and Black Thought, the featured emcees do a solid job, providing one gritty verse a piece. At the halfway point the song switches into a silky smooth instrumental jam that has a funky bassline, good background vocals and a minimal synthesizer. There is a lot going on in this song, but everything is tied together nicely and put together in a manner that doesn’t overwhelm.

Song of The Day is "Make My"

St. Vincent "Strange Mercy"

“Strange Mercy” the third studio album from American singer songwriter St. Vincent is a highly anticipated record that meets the expectations. “Actor”, the previous record was a very good release that attracted a lot of attention because of its glossy musical arrangements and dark lyrical themes. “Strange Mercy” takes a detour from the path that was set by its predecessor, “Actor”. St. Vincent ditches the baroque strings in favor of muscular guitar arrangements that provide the backbone to most of the compositions.  The straight forward approach does more with fewer tools, besides the guitar the only other instruments utilized are synths; and they do the job of filling in the empty space left between the guitar, drums and bass. “Strange Mercy” is meticulously produced, packed with subtle nuances that have the listener going back for multiple listens. Gaining something new following each subsequent spin.

Lyrically St. Vincent touches on a lot of subjects, themes and topics. She showcases her talents as a writer, spewing out some very haunting lines in addition to some heartfelt meditations. The first ballad “Strange Mercy” includes a part when she states “If I ever meet the dirty policeman who roughed you up…..No I, I don’t what”. Those lines are juxtaposed with some distorted ugly sounding guitar, setting the stage for some kind of revenge against that “dirty policeman”. It is left up to the listener to wonder what that “policeman” did to that characters “little one”, quite a disturbing thing to even think about.

The other ballad “Champagne Year” possibly the best song on the album is existentially driven. The words echo the sentiments of a person disappointed and disillusioned, almost having that “now what” moment. “But I secretly expected/ A Choir at the shore/ And Confetti through the fallen air” is the crushing realization that there is a lingering emptiness and dissatisfaction. This could be a reflection of St. Vincent or it could just be another one of her characters, but on this one, something tells me that this is partly based on her rise to fame. “Northern Lights’ appears to be about the fear of aging and death, and the attempt to resist the inevitable. Desperation is brought out by the hook which states “Gotta get young/Gotta get young quick/Gotta make this last/ If it makes me sick”.  These lyrics are further enhanced by some surging strings and synths that make the moment sound as urgent as ever, racing against the ticking clock.

Other highlights on “Strange Mercy” include “Surgeon”, a sensual song that has the St. Vincent telling the partner to find a “Surgeon” since he can’t cut her open; suggesting at his sexual shortcomings. The song ends with a whizzing synthesizer solo that sounds like it belongs in the 80s. “Hysterical Strength” has a dance beat that alludes to other herky jerky artists from that same time period, a cool song that leads to the conclusion of the album. At this point I am very impressed with the way St. Vincent constructed “Strange Mercy” from start till finish. Lastly, I find it awesome that the two female singers, St. Vincent and PJ Harvey gave us some of the bleakest, and the most exhilarating musical moments of 2011 so far. 

Song of the Day is St. Vincent "Cruel".

Goodbye, R.E.M.!!!!

Last week, REM announced their break up; the news came as a surprise to a lot of their fans including myself. Partly because they just recently released a solid album, appeared to be rejuvenated and ready to move on to the next phase of their long and storied career. After reading the press release, the break up is completely understandable as well as admirable. The band did not want to stick together long enough to a point where they begin to hate each other’s guts (see New Order).

I became a fan of R.E.M. about 3 years ago, this was the period when my ears where beginning to soak in different sounds and pay attention to various types of music and genres that I previously ignored, or simply dismissed as lame. Luckily, the first R.E.M. albums that I got my hands on just so happened to be their first two records, “Murmur” and “Reckoning”. Initially I wasn’t that impressed by either and did not understand what the fuss was all about and why they were highly admired by critics and musicians. So, I figured there has to be something good about them, at the very least, there has to be one song that I can enjoy. To make a long story short, after repeated listens I couldn’t stop playing both albums from start until finish and I grew to love them.

In a way, my exposure to their music is analogous to that of a teenager in the early eighties who stumbled upon the band when they were just getting started. The experience was completely unexpected and out of the blue. Those releases ushered me into the world of independent music and helped me discover a number of other notable bands and artists. Besides “Murmur” and “Reckoning”, I almost never listen to anything else in their discography because I have history on my side that tells me that the later material didn’t rival the early stuff. So with that, R.E.M. will remain in my little world a band that only made those couple of releases and I will remember them for “Murmur” and “Reckoning” and act as if their future clunkers (see “Around the Sun”) never happened.

Song of the Day is "So. Central Rain"