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)

★★★★★★★★☆☆