MUSIC: New Radiohead & LCD Soundsystem

Merry Christmas everyone! My gift to you is two long-awaited returns from some of indie's best bands, LCD Soundsystem and Radiohead. LCD Soundsystem released a depressing Christmas song entitled "Christmas Will Break Your Heart" and Radiohead dropped their rejected theme for the new James Bond movie, called "Spectre" like the movie. Both are fantastic and embedded below.

OPINION: Best Albums of 2015

We've reached that time of the year again, year-end list season is upon us. Here are my top ten albums of 2015!

1.   Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

 Kendrick Lamar has released a perfect masterpiece that has changed the face of rap forever with To Pimp A Butterfly. The lyrical and instrumental depth of the album is astounding, putting even the best hip-hop of recent years to shame. To Pimp A Butterfly is an incredibly personal albums that gives the listener a ticket on the emotion roller-coaster that Kendrick has experienced over a lifetime. It is impossible to fully understand To Pimp A Butterfly, but you have to admire it and respect it for everything it manages to do.

2.   Speedy Ortiz - Foil Deer

Speedy Ortiz's debut was a fantastic album that showed a lot of promise and this album fulfills that promise. Everything that was great about Major Arcana is still present on this sophomore album, yet done better and with more variety. The funk of  "Puffer", the insanity of "Homonovus", and the pop-punk of "Swell Content" proves that Speedy Ortiz isn't just a nineties sound-a-like band like many claimed them to be. Foil Deer is a powerful statement of a record that won't be soon forgotten. 

3.   The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Harmlessness

 The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die is the best band of this so-called "emo revival" and this is because they are barely emo. On this new record, TWIABP&IANLATD show that they are just a fantastic band, not a fantastic emo band. Everything that was great about their debut album is still here, just in a more cohesive format. "January 10th, 2014" might be the best song the band has put out and sets a new standard for all the copycat emo bands out there.

4.   Mike Krol - Turkey

In eighteen minutes, Mike Krol proves to be one of the best garage rockers around, if not the best. Mike's "I Hate Jazz" and "Trust Fund" EPs proved what he was capable of and his debut album for Merge shows that he is ready to be the next big thing. Mike's unique vocals that carry relatable lyrics mixed with the fantastic guitar fuzz works so well. Mike isn't doing anything that new, but he's doing it as good, if not better, as anyone else playing right now.

5.   Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit 

On her newest album, Courtney Barnett became a rocker. "Pedestrian at Best" features one of the year's best guitar riffs and  "Aqua Profonda!" packs so much into it's two minutes, it's incredible. She doesn't leave fans of "The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas" hanging either, this new albums features some great slower songs such as "Depreston" and "Kim's Caravan". Barnett is one of the most versatile singer-songwriters around and this albums proves that.   

6.   Colleen Green - I Want To Grow Up

Colleen Green realizes that music doesn't have to be complex to be great. Her newest album features some of the most blunt, therefore some of the most relatable, lyrics in recent memory. The crunchy guitars sound incredibly satisfying and the occasional synth-pop tunes works way better than they should on a rock album.

7.   Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love

Sleater-Kinney were smart enough to realize that they shouldn't change anything major for their comeback album, they had already perfected their sound by the time they broke up for the first time. No Cities To Love is another great album in an amazingly consistent discography. The vocals still pack as much of a punch as they always have and the instrumental work is as good and knotty as always. 

8.   Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss 

Abyss feels like the album Chelsea Wolfe has been trying to make since she has been releasing music. Her previous albums have been very good, but in working with producer John Congleton, she seems to have found the perfect sound for trying to express the darkness she feels. Abyss blends electronics, folk, and stoner rock like no other album I've ever heard and it works fantastically.

9.   Protomartyr - The Agent Intellect 

Protomartyr are not the most innovative band, but they are really good at what they do, which is making post-punk. Their sophmore album, Under Color Of Official Right, was my eighth favorite album of 2014 and this album continues their trend of very solid, if not incredible, music. After three very good albums under their belt, I wouldn't be surprised if Protomartyr release something truly amazing in the near future.  

10.  Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy 

If nothing else, Titus Andronicus released one of the most ambitious rock albums of 2015. It's hard to not at least respect the album for trying to keep a captive audience through an hour and a half, and it actually succeeds for the most part. TMLT won't be remembered as Titus's best album, but it will be remembered for how close it got.

NEWS: David Bowie To Release New Album

Everybody's favorite musical chameleon, David Bowie, is supposedly releasing a new album on January 8th. The album is called Blackstar and only has seven songs that will last 45 minutes. It was recorded at New York's Magic shop with local jazz musicians. I really enjoyed Bowie' last album, but I'm hoping that the interesting song structure and inclusion of jazz musicians might lead to a new and different style that we've never heard from the ever-changing musician.

NEWS/MUSIC: Download Meow The Jewels Right Now

This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Run The Jewels have performed a surprise release of the highly anticipated cat version of their beloved 2014 album, RTJ2. RTJ2 was my favorite album of last year, so I'm incredibly excited for this meow-ified version of the album. Treat yourself and download it here.

NEWS/MUSIC: Alex G Announces New Album, Releases Single

One of the finest bedroom pop artists around, Alex G, has announced a new album. The album is called Beach Music and will be release on Domino October 9th. The first single, "Bug", is fantastic and available to play above!

REVIEW: The Most Lamentable Tragedy by Titus Andronicus

   

    When Titus Andronicus announced The Most Lamentable Tragedy, the question wasn't whether it would be good, it was how good. The band has proved itself to be incredibly consistent over the past three albums, minus some minor ups and downs. The Airing of Grievances was great, The Monitor was incredible, and Local Business was good. TMLT features some of the band's best and most interesting material, but its spread so thin. The album is fantastic at points but tiresome at others, which makes for an inconsistent, but great listen.

    The first thing that makes itself apparent about the album is its length. TMLT is 93 minutes, compared to The Monitor's 65 minutes. To give an idea of how long this is compared to other rock operas, the Who's Quadrophenia and Pink Floyd's The Wall are both 81 minutes. TMLT is 12 minutes longer than these already long albums. To pay attention to an album for 93 minutes is an incredible feat, even if the music is fantastic. While most of the material on this album is fantastic and keeps the listener's attention, not all of it does. The experimental drone tracks are interesting, but don't work too well in the album. The tracks "Sun Salutation" and "Auld Lang Syne" are interesting in theory, but break up the flow of the album. The silent "Intermission" track works better than expected, even if it's unbelievably pretentious. 

     Besides these weak tracks that are mentioned above, almost every song is fantastic. "No Future Part IV: No Future Triumphant" features incredibly knotty instrumental break-downs that are relatively new sounding for the band. The Eastern-influenced "More Perfect Union" is an epic exploration of family. "(S)HE SAID/(S)HE SAID" is one of the best songs on the album, even if it's four minutes too long. "I'm Going Insane" is one of Titus's best songs, despite its repetitive lyrics. "Into The Void (Filler)" is anything but filler and it features some of the best guitar and bass riff's in the band's discography. 

    Titus Andronicus seems to be trying a lot of different things of this album, some which succeeds and some of it fails. The idea of doing a very personal rock opera was an interesting one, but between bad mixing and growled vocals, it's hard to keep up with the story. It's possible to grasp moments of the story after repeated listens, but repeated listens are hard when the album is this long. Some of the tracks on the album don't work, but for the most part the band has created some incredible tracks that sound like classic Titus songs, but still fresh and new. This album comes close to the masterpiece it might have been, but its flaws are just too glaring to ignore. I'm going to give this album 8/10 stars for being mostly fantastic, but seriously flawed at other points.

BEST TRACKS: "No Future Part IV: No Future Triumphant", "I'm Going Insane", "Into The Void (Filler)"

★★★★★★★★☆☆

MUSIC: Eagles Of Death Metal Release New Single

The Eagles of Death Metal have release their first new song since 2008, entitled "Complexity". The single will appear on the band's upcoming album, Zipper Down. The single is a fun, catchy number that the band does so well. Listen to it here!

NEWS: RATATAT Announce New Album

RATATAT have announced a new album, entitled Magnifique, It will come out July 17th on XL as their first album in five years. The fantastic "Cream On Chrome" will be on the album, along with the "Intro" track the band shared about a week ago. Check out "Cream On Chrome" and the tracklisting below!

1. Intro
2. Cream on Chrome
3. Magnifique
4. Abrasive
5. Countach
6. Drift
7. Pricks of Brightness
8. Nightclub Amnesia
9. Cold Fingers
10. Supreme
11. Rome
12. Primetime
13. I Will Return
14. Outro

NEWS/MUSIC: Titus Andronicus Announce New Album, Release New Single

Titus Andronicus have announced a new album, called The Most Lamentable Tragedy, due out July 28th on Merge. The band also released a single called "Dimed Out" (embedded below), which is another great punk anthem that the band does so well. The album is going to be a 29-track rock opera about a "transformative odyssey", which makes me incredibly excited for this album.

REVIEW: Foil Deer by Speedy Ortiz

    Speedy Ortiz's music is as sharp as a blade. Tangled and distorted guitars intertwine with Sadie Dupuis's trenchant lyrics. It makes sense then that a central theme of their sophomore album is blades. In the first track, "Good Neck", Sadie sings, "Watch your back, because baby's good with a blade". On "Dot X" Sadie warns, "Don’t ever touch my blade, you fool, you’ll be cursed for a lifetime". Major Arcana was a mostly live record about breaking up, but this time around, the band is on the attack. Everything that was was fantastic about their first record returns on this incredible follow-up, yet they manage to bring some new sounds to the table which work well for the most part. Through lyrical and musical progression, the band is able to set themselves apart from the 90's bands they were continuously compared to after their debut and create an incredible piece of art.

    Foil Deer was recorded after Sadie received a MFA in poetry UMass Amherst and with a better recording atmosphere than Major Arcana. These two factors give the album a much bigger feeling. The album changes moods and style often, while Major Arcana largely stayed in the same territory. The best example of this musical agility is the track "Homonovus". At the beginning of the track, the  guitar is quietly knotting around Sadie's vocals, but as the track goes on, the guitar gets louder and louder, until it reaches an incredibly discordant climax. The opener of the album also achieves this build-up, but it's less sudden and extreme than on "Homonovus". 

   Even though Speedy Ortiz does discordant and noisy extremely well, the band also shines on their slower moments. "Zig" starts out with just Sadie and acoustic guitar. This intimate moment is reminiscent of when Speedy Ortiz was a solo project on "The Death of Speedy Ortiz", but the track then builds into a great rock track. The track "My Dead Girl" also shows the softer side of the band through dense and mysterious lyrics delivered in a haunting manor. Closing track, "Dvrk Wvrld", one of the best tracks on the album, features Sadie's most personal vocal delivery ever. When she says "I think I take too many, this one’s the last for a while", it's impossible to not feel sympathy for her, despite not knowing what she's talking about.

   Despite all of the albums strong suits, there are some minor things that make this record just miss perfection. The three track progression of "Homonovus", "Puffer", and "Swell Content", while all fantastic on their own, lack consistency. "Homonovus" is nosier than anything the band has every done, "Puffer" is a funky R&B track, and then "Swell Content" is almost pop-punk. At moments in Major Arcana, it can be hard to tell when one track ends and another begins, so the band has shown how cohesive they can be. Because of the risks and experiments this album takes, it lacks the incredible cohesion of their previous record. I'm going to give this record 9/10 stars for surpassing their previous full length in every way except cohesion. 

BEST TRACKS: "The Graduates", "Dot X", "Homonovus". "Zig", "Ginger", "Dvrk Wvrld"

★★★★★★★★★☆ 

MUSIC: Crystal Castles Return With New Single

When Alice Glass announced she was leaving the band last year, many assumed that Crystal Castles were done. The single above seems to indicate that the band is definitely not broken up. It's a great song to return on I'm excited to hear more from the band.

MUSIC: Ratatat Release New Single!?!

Ratatat's Youtube channel has just posted the video above. It seems to be a new single from the band called "Cream On Chrome", but there is no information about it anywhere. This groovy track is the first thing the band has put out in five years. Enjoy it and hopefully we get some more info shortly.

EDIT: Pitchfork reports that this is an official release. No other information has been given.

MUSIC/NEWS: Tame Impala Announce New Album, Release New Single

Tame Impala have announced that their new album will be entitled Currents. That is the cover art above. Stream the dreamy and groovy new single "Cause I'm A Man" below. 

MUSIC: Death Grips Release Jenny Death Stream

In response to a leak, Death Grips have released a stream of the second of half of The Powers That B, AKA Jenny Death. Upon my first listen, the band seems at the top of the game with this release. Check it out above!

REVIEW: Fantasy Empire by Lightning Bolt

     Some bands have a need to continually and dramatically change their sound over time. You can expect each Beck album is going to sound different from the last. David Bowie, the musical chameleon, is going to shift his sound to what's popular at the moment. Then there are the bands that release albums that more or less sound the same. Some of these bands these bands release albums that sound exactly the same, but others release albums that sound different enough that it keeps things interesting. Lighting Bolt is one of these bands that releases very similar albums year after year. They have released five albums, each of which are slightly different and slightly more fine tuned than the last. Lightning Bolt knows how to make scorching noise rock and their not changing anything dramatic on this next record. Through slightly catchier riffs, better recording equipment, and more songwriting knowledge, the band achieves another great record without trying anything to change their sound dramatically.

     If you've ever heard a Lightning Bolt album, there's nothing that will surprise you about this album. Brian Chippendale's pounding drums and distorted vocals still penetrate Brian Gibson's amazingly full sounding bass. The thing I find most impressive about Lightning Bolt as a band is how tightly orchestrate noise. Every moment on this album feels tightly orchestrated, even when they are playing incredibly chaotic music. Their ability to organize chaos is present on all of their music, but this album feels the most tight. This tightness leads to this album feeling like their most accessible album. "Accessible" in this case doesn't mean that they're suddenly making pop songs, it just means that the riffs are slightly poppier and their music is a little less noisy. At this point in their career, I was hoping that Lightning Bolt would have maybe progressed a bit more, but they are so great at doing what they do it's hard to be mad. I'm going to give this album 8/10 stars for being Lightning Bolt at their best, but not breaking any musical barriers.

BEST TRACKS: "The Metal East", "King Of My World", "Mythmaster" 

★★★★★★★★☆☆

NEWS/MUSIC: Tame Impala Release Single, Announce Tour

Tame Impala have released a new single, called "Let It Happened". The new track is a fantastic 8-minute long song that you can stream and download below. The band also announced an extensive American tour.

NEWS/MUSIC: Violent Femmes Announce New EP, Release Single

The legendary Violent Femmes have released a new song completely out of the blue, called "Love Love Love Love Love". The single will be appearing on a four-song EP called Happy New Year which will be released on Record Store Day. The single is relatively boring and uninspired, but new Violent Femmes makes me happy nonetheless. Check out the single below!

NEWS/MUSIC: Blur Announce New Album

Legendary brit-pop band, Blur, have announced a new album, entitled The Magic Whip. Their first album in 13 years will be released in on April 28. They also released a fantastic new single called "Go Out" which you can listen to below.

NEWS/MUSIC: Squarepusher Announces New Album

Squarepusher, one of IDM's finest, has announced a new record, entitled Damogen Furies. The album will be released April 21st on Warp. In anticipation for the new album, Squarepusher has released a frantic new single called "Rayc Fire 2", which you can download here.

REVIEW: A Very Special Episode Of - EP by Open Mike Eagle

     Open Mike Eagle likes to talk and more people should be listening. Whether it's on his raps or his podcast, he shows that he has important things to say. With last year's fantastic Dark Comedy, he proved that he is one of the voices that everyone should be listening too. Not that his previous work wasn't great, it's just that Dark Comedy was even better. Dark Comedy saw OME grow as lyricist, rapper, and persona. Only seven months after his best album, he manages to drop an EP that stands up to the massive hype created by Dark Comedy. At moments, the EP can feel slightly weak next to Dark Comedy, but at others, it transcends his previous work and shows where Open Mike Eagle might be planning to go with his "art rap".

    My favorite part of this EP is how Open Mike Eagle manages to both reflect on his previous work and look towards the future. The first track shows OME reflecting on Dark Comedy, as shown through the title and the instrumental. The track is a loose sequel to the fantastic "Dark Comedy Morning Show" and features a remix of that song's beat. While I prefer the original beat, the lyrics on "Dark Comedy Late Show" are much better. Hilarious lyrics such as "I still check Yahoo cause we both got attachment issues" made me laugh out loud. The lyrics also take a dark turn when OME starts to talk about the horrific events surrounding Ferguson, but he manages the transition gracefully. This song doesn't fit too well with the rest of the tracks of the EP, which makes sense because it was released as a part of a compilation. It's a great track, but it worked best as a single.

    The tracks in the middle of the EP are great (with a killer verse by Milo on "Trickeration"), but I feel the moment where Open Mike Eagle truely shines is in the last track "Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Raps)". I feel this is the track that really shows the potential for Mike's next release. His flow on this track absolutely kills and actually reminds me of his co-Hellfyre Club member, Busdriver. This is some of the fastest I've heard OME rap and he does so with such a whimsical sense of jazz. Gold Panda's fanatic and chopped production provokes the same from OME's flow. This increased speed doesn't come at the expense of great lyricism either, OME manages to be witty and confessional at the same time on this track. If Mike continues to make songs as good as this one, he is going to become the next big thing.

    Open Mike Eagle manages to follow up his best album with a fantastic EP. Dark Comedy has been in constant rotation for me since it came out and this EP will be joining that rotation. Though it can feel disjointed at points, Mike's lyrics and flow make this EP worthy of eight stars.

BEST TRACKS: "Dark Comedy Late Snow", "Trickeration", "Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Raps)

★★★★★★★★☆☆

NEWS: Speedy Ortiz Detail New Album

Speedy Ortiz recently announced a new album, Foil Deer, a couple of weeks ago, but details were scarce. Today they announced that the album will be released April 21st via Carpark. The comic below was shared with the album announcement. I've really enjoyed all the music they've put out and I'm sure that this release will continue their fantastic run.

Click to view larger

REVIEW: Computer Controller Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin

    

      Aphex Twin is a man of many sounds. It's hard to believe that same mind created both "Come To Daddy" and "Flim", let alone put them on the same EP. Richard D. James jumps from style to style between tracks, yet manages to make each song sound distinctly his own. Last year's Syro was a fantastic and relatively accessible collection of many different songs from the artist. It was a perfect album for both new fans and old fans alike. Following up one of his most accessible albums comes a very inaccessible, but equally great, EP. From what I can tell, James made this album after listening to Sun Ra while probably doing some sort of drug. While Syro got as upbeat and happy as IDM can get, this EP goes into the dark crevices of electronic music. Every synth sounds like the Korg from hell. Aphex Twin separates these tracks with piano and drum interludes. While these interludes don't work on their own, as a part of the EP, they work beautifully. "piano un10 it happened" stands out because it is neither an interlude or a hellish electronic song. "piano" is one of James's absolutely beautiful piano pieces, but it feels slightly out of place on this otherwise dark EP. This is EP is James at his most experimental (yet still beat-driven) and the experiment pays off. The EP can feel slightly disjointed at points, but it's mostly another great Aphex Twin release. I'm giving this EP 8/10 stars for succeeding in it's experiment.

BEST TRACKS: 'diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13", "diskhat1", "hat5c 0001 rec-4"

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 

REVIEW: No Cities To Love by Sleater-Kinney

      I'm having trouble figuring out how to start this review. First off, I haven't written a review in awhile. Second, Sleater-Kinney are one of the most formidable acts in all of indie rock. They are one of most famous bands of the riot grrrl movement because of seven albums that range from good to classic. All of the members of the band are extremely successful individually, Carrie Brownstein with the hilarious Portlandia, Corin Tucker with Heavens To Betsy, and Janet Weiss with the Jicks, Elliott Smith, The Shins, and Wild Flag. The indie community was ecstatic when they heard that these talented individuals were coming together once again to record as a full group. Based off the amount of amazing work behind them, I and many others were extremely excited for the group's new album and they do not disappoint. 

      Sleater-Kinney have the remarkable ability to have every part of a song stand out, but blend together well. Every amazing guitar riff couldn't stand on it's own without Janet's pounding drums. Corin's vocal power is astounding, lyrically and musically. The band transcends questions of punk grime versuses catchiness and just makes some really good songs. If this description above sounds like it could describe any Sleater-Kinney release, it's because it could. The band knows how to make a good record, so why change the formula?

      The band has described this release as Sleater-Kinney 2.0, which I find to be very accurate. Every song on here is immediately recognizable as a Sleater-Kinney song, but that doesn't mean the album sounds like a rehash of previous material. Sleater-Kinney's core sound stays the same, while the details change. This is why completely different albums like The Woods and Dig Me Out sound like their coming from the same group. Sleater-Kinney don't do anything to revolutionize their sound, they just change it enough to keep themselves sounding fresh. I'm going to give album 8/10 stars for sounding new and fresh, while keeping their core sound intact.

BEST TRACKS: "No Cities To Love", "A New Wave", "Bury Our Friends"

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 

NEWS: Lightning Bolt Announce New Album

Iconic noise rock band Lightning Bolt have announced a new album entitled Fantasy Empire. It will be released March 24th via Thrill Jockey, the band's first release for the label. The press release says that this is band's first release recorded on hi-fi equipment.You can preorder the album here on CD or limited edition vinyl. The band doesn't has a bad song in their discography, so I'm very excited to hear what they have in store for us.

NEWS: Death Cab For Cutie Announce New Album

Legendary indie rockers, Death Cab for Cutie, have announced that their new album will be released March 31. It's called Kintsugi after a form of Japanese art. This is the first album the band has released since drummer Chris Walla has left the group. I feel the like the band is primed to release another classic after the slightly disappointing Codes and Keys.

NEWS/MUSIC: The Go! Team Announce New Album

The Go! Team will be releasing a new album, The Scene Between, on March 24th. The title track was released today and I've embedded it below. While the single isn't the best work The Go! Team has ever put out, it's good enough that I'm excited for the rest of the album.