Album Review: Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer

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Artist: Father John Misty

Album: God’s Favorite Customer

Genre: Indie Folk/Indie Rock

Rating: 7/10

Those who find Joshua Tillman AKA Father John Misty pretentious definitely won’t be won over by his new album’s cover art or album title, and even the fact that there’s a track on this album titled “Mr. Tillman,” but those who admire his sharp lyrical content, passionate vocals, and attention to the importance of subtlety in music will swoon when hearing his new album. God’s Favorite Customer is the title, and unlike his masterpiece Pure Comedy, the majority of these songs find Tillman looking inward. Tillman revealed that this album was inspired by an event in which his life “blew up.” He will not elaborate on what that event entailed, but it’s clear that this was a time where he truly had to fight his personal demons. This isn’t a concept album, but there are recurring themes all throughout. Themes of depression, self-awareness, and the impact  the aforementioned subjects have on his marriage. Like a true Jack Torrance, his madness was the result of his living in a hotel for a long period of time, but instead of developing homicidal tendencies, Tillman’s depression was enhanced. This is without a doubt his most personal work, with his relationship with his wife tying the album together. In a way, these are realistic love songs, songs that display the unsureness and dependency of being in a relationship or marriage. Tillman paints the realities of being in love, both light and dark. From the separation anxiety on the track “Please Don’t Die,” which features a gut-wrenching chorus sung from the perspective of his wife pleading him not to take his own life, to the encouragement to accept the fact that no relationship is as perfect as the ones you see in the movies on the track “Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All,” this is an unsparing album that lays it all out on the table, and it’s perfectly crafted with detailed but also subtle instrumentation. Tillman has the incredible talent to put us in the headspace he was in whilst staying at that hotel, and he even pokes fun at the situation on the track “Mr. Tillman” where he sings from the perspective of a hotel concierge trying to professionally explain his frustration with Tillman’s behavior. It’s truly incredible how Tillman can walk us through such dark subject matter while having us maintain our comfort. You might even laugh at some of the album’s wit. Tillman is aware of his music’s self-indulgence, but instead of parading it around with a “look at me i’m a genius” attitude *cough* Kanye *cough* he uses it to therapize himself, and the result is some of the best songwriting in music today.

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Date: 06/03/18

Album Review: Kanye West – Ye

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Artist: Kanye West

Album: Ye

Genre: Hip Hop

Rating: 4/10

 After Kanye’s ugly album rollout which took Kanye’s signature batshit behavior to another level, a level with downright offensive and irrational outbursts, it’s clear that Kanye is trying to compensate for his erratic behavior by claiming to be immensely bipolar on his new album Ye. The album cover even features a text that reads “I hate being bi-polar it’s awesome.” I guess Kanye is selling bumper stickers now. Anyway, this does not excuse the fact that he claimed “slavery was a choice,” and that he will not give any reasonable explanation as to why he supports Trump other than the simple fact that he’s just another outspoken rich celebrity he identifies with, but hey, I can separate the art from the artist, but Kanye’s erratic behavior floods this new album. Even in it’s short length of 24 minutes, this album is insufferable. Sure it’s not as scatterbrained or incohesive as his previous album The Life Of Pablo, but this album is without a doubt his most cringeworthy work. It’s littered with lyrical contradictions and Kanye even has the nerve to wear mental illness as a fashion statement. Yes it is a good message that we shouldn’t judge or shun anyone who who has a mental illness and that it shouldn’t come with such a stigma, but Kanye doesn’t care about your illness, he cares about his illness. He flaunts it in front of us and he truly believes that it’s just another attribute of his genius, genius he no longer has. He claims his bipolar disorder is his superpower on the track “Yikes,” but he’s doing absolutely nothing to help the cause, it’s just more egocentric self worship. The supposed “emotional centerpiece” “Wouldn’t Leave” is a song about his wife and her loyalty to him even after his public meltdowns. He even dedicates the song to all the women who have stuck with their men, but this is really a one-sided delivery that comes from the “boys will be boys” mindset, as if it’s a woman’s role to be dependent on and loyal to a man. Lyrically this album is atrocious, but what about the instrumentation? Well, to put it in the simplest terms, it’s nothing special. Kanye proved he is still a great producer on Pusha-T’s new album DAYTONA, but the production on Ye is quite forgettable, it’s not as ahead of the curve as his older material was. There’s really nothing else to say about this album. Should I mention the unnecessary features? The god awful Kid Cudi vocals on “Ghost Town?” None of that is worth noting. This is just a 7 track stench of narcissism from a artist who once was a talented visionary.

Written By: Steven Sandoval 

Date: 06/02/18

St. Vincent Releases Re-worked Version of “MASSEDUCTION” Track “Slow Disco”

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“Slow Disco” is one of the most captivating tracks off St. Vincent’s latest album MASSEDUCTION, and now her and producer Jack Antonoff have re-worked the track under a different and more upbeat light. The result is a dance floor ready “Industrial” banger titled “Fast Slow Disco.” You can listen to the track below:

Gorillaz Release Two New Tracks and Announce New Album “The Now Now”

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That’s right, you read the headline correctly. You don’t have to wait another five years to hear a new “Gorillaz” album. Following last year’s Humanz, Everyone’s favorite animated band are set to release a new album titled The Now Now on June 29th. They have released two brand new tracks off the album, “Humility” and “Lake Zurich,” and the first one has a fun music video that even features Jack Black. You can listen to the tracks below:

 

Father John Misty Releases New Music Video for New Track “Please Don’t Die”

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Father John Misty will release his new album God’s Favorite Customer tonight, and while we wait, we can enjoy another new track from the upcoming album titled “Please Don’t Die,” as well as an awesome stop motion animated music video to accompany it. You can watch the music video below:

The Internet Share Details Of Upcoming Album “Hive Mind”

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The Internet’s long awaited follow-up to their 2015 album Ego Death will be released on July 20th, and it is titled Hive Mind. The band have also unveiled the cover art, and have released a new track off the album titled “Come Over.” Check out the track and the album’s cover art below:

Hive Mind Cover Art:

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Come Over:

IDLES Release New Track “Colossus”

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Bristol band “IDLES” released an incredible album last year titled Brutalism, the most forward thinking “Punk Rock” album of 2017. Now the band have some more new music for us. The band have released a new track titled “Colossus,” as well as a music video to accompany it. Hopefully this means a new album is on the way. You can watch the video below:

 

 

Album Review: Pusha-T – DAYTONA

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Artist: Pusha-T

Album: DAYTONA 

Genre: Hip Hop

Rating: 8/10

 Following a string of controversies involving Kanye West’s batshit antics, anyone associated with the guy unfortunately has to address where they stand on the whole Trump thing. You’d think people would realize that you can be friends or work with someone who doesn’t have the same political views as you, but hey, here we are. Pusha-T is the latest rapper to work with Kanye West, and by no means does he share the same views as Kanye. He just utilized Kanye’s immaculate production skills for his new album DAYTONA, and if My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was an indication that the two work very well together, then DAYTONA is a powerful reminder of that fact. This album has that gritty tough as nails Push we love. Yes the lyrical content mostly features his same ol’ drug dealer subject matter, but his delivery is so infectious that it makes us completely okay with the fact that he’s been talking about this subject for over a decade. Pusha’s straight to the point no bullshit style doesn’t require grandiose production, and it’s as if Kanye knew this while creating these beats. The production is minimal, but still features Kanye’s staple of sporadic soul samples and beat switches. Tracks like “The Games We Play” and “Hard Piano” feel like updated throwbacks to the glory days of “Boom Bap,” and Rick Ross is the cherry on top on “Hard Piano” where both him and Push speak on their experiences with drug dealing and where they are now. Mr. Poopity Scoop even has a verse on the track “What Would Meek Do?” and the chemistry between the two goes over quite well. The track that follows, “Infrared” is the closing track, and this one definitely has people talking. It’s no secret that he’s taking obvious shots at Drake and probably other modern rappers who don’t write their own lyrics, and yes Drake has responded, leading to this year’s most interesting beef so far. I’ve already forgotten about Joyner Lucas and Logic’s beef. Sure Pusha’s lyrical content isn’t exactly something that requires immense dissection to decipher any meaning, but that’s okay. Not all lyrics have to be dense. Pusha excels in lyrical simplicity, his blunt and cold delivery is what gives him his signature style, and with Kanye backing him up with perfectly crafted production, the two are a force to be reckoned with.

Written By: Steven Sandoval 

Date: 05/27/18

Album Review: A$AP Rocky – Testing

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Artist: A$AP Rocky 

Album: Testing 

Genre: Hip Hop/Experimental Hip Hop

Rating: 4/10

 Being the most standout member of the “A$AP Mob,” A$AP Rocky has quite the fanbase. A fanbase of people who hold him to the highest of standards, but the New York rapper’s new album Testing proves that he fearlessly creates music on his own terms, and that he has a strong urge to experiment. His last album At. Long. Last. A$AP found the MC stretching his talent and satisfying both bar lovers and lovers of trunk knocking beats, but tracks like “Fine Whine” and “L$D” showcased a side of Rocky that wanted to experiment with sounds that transcend the boundaries of “Hip Hop,” and these tracks were definitely precursors to Testing. The album title is fitting, seeing as how Rocky is testing the waters with odd production that you really won’t hear anywhere else in the mainstream, but honestly the result of his experimentation is a lackluster album that relies too heavily on sporadic beat switches and sounds, and odd noise whether it be abrasive distorted bass or chopped and screwed vocals, and the samples on these tracks are poorly mixed. Everything from the Moby sampling “A$AP Forever,” to the messy “Gunz N Butter,” this whole album is a cringeworthy disaster that lacks cohesion. Features like FKA Twigs or Frank Ocean provide underwhelming vocals, and the guest rappers on these tracks add nothing worth noting, and Rocky himself sounds barely there, delivering lazy verses. Putting more emphasis on the Experimental nature of the production and less on his rapping skills just eliminates any humanity on this record. You have to admire his aspirations to innovate, but he needs to realize that not all Experimental music is genius.

Written By: Steven Sandoval 

Date: 05/26/18

Death Grips Release New Track “Flies”

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Every week since May 5th “Death Grips” have been releasing new tracks from their upcoming album Year of the Snitch, and now the band have released yet another new track titled “Flies,” and this time there’s a music video to accompany the new single. There still is no release date for the new album, but it looks like it’s going to drop very soon. Watch the video below: