Music Reviews:

Scorched Transmissions’ S/T debut is a work of art that has its ups and downs. Consisting of three members, Future Metz (Rapper), Avitar Virgonian and JD Casten, the group makes a Hip Hop album that definitely sounds original. For example, the track “iFold” features one of the most creative Hip Hop beats I’ve ever heard; the track is also unique in that rapping is used more like a sample and that makes rapping part integrated into the overall flow and development of the beat. From song to song the style of beats can range from Hip Hop to ambient, drone, electronic and trip hop. Lots of varying instruments are used to enhance the overall mood of the album, such as jazz instruments, and this works in favor of the band’s music. The producer is clearly talented and many of the highlights of the album can be found in its clever and atmospheric beats. However Scorched Transmissions is not a perfect album. Though his rapping sometimes help develop the song in a good way, often Future Metz’s plain rapping usually gets in the way and prevent the music from its full maturation. He does try varying his style by switching between spoken words and normal rapping, but he generally speaks at an awkward time and his flow is way too simplistic; his talent as a rapper is far from being impressive. Scorched Transmissions’ debut work wasn’t an impressive release, but it was a release that caught my attention. It would be interesting to see how they develop from here.
Grade: B

~by Tad Machida

Shuteye Unison

Album: Our Future Selves

Genre: Rock/Post-rock

I was expecting something loud, rough, and noisy when I turned on the first song. But then the album began to blend the rock-y, riff-y instrumentals with more mellow vocals, and there’s something attractive about it. The album develops a very ambient sound, almost to the point of eeriness. Good for 3am background music. Call me crazy, but the wispy whispering vocals almost remind me of Ben Gibbard.

Rating: B

Tracks: 3, 6, 7, 8, 9

Sounds like: Silversun Pickups

“Together/Apart” is the fourth full-length release from Seattle-based independent rapper Grieves. Picking up the street-art decorated, multi-layered CD jacket, I hoped that the album art wouldn’t be the best thing about the album (which is often the case). Lucky for this review, it wasn’t. The refined street art of the album case is very reflective of Grieves’ music; it combines the grimy, raw elements of underground hip hop with the pristine aesthetic quality of mainstream rap. This makes the album very accessible and enjoyable; it does not sacrifice artistic quality to gain mainstream listeners. It is also very listenable for independent rap. This might be a turn off for some listeners, though; sometimes the album sounds too suburban and friendly to be reflective of real struggle (maybe this was because I was listening to the clean version of the album, one of two options included in the cd case).
The jazz-influenced instrumental of “Bloody Poetry” (reminiscent of Lupe Fiasco’s revivalist song “Daydream” with neo-soul crooner Jill Scott) is exemplary of the aesthetic thought that went into creating this music. This can also be said of the opening track, “Lightspeed,” which combines the heavy subject matter of growing up at lightspeed (“19 I decided I was done with it/ hit Seattle with a head full of drum rhythms”) with a catchy chorus melody. And through the rest of “Together/Apart,” Grieves weaves in and out of melancholic narratives, painting stories of togetherness and stories of separation.
Notable tracks: “Lightspeed,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” ““Growing Pains,” “Bloody Poetry”
Grade: B-

2011 marked another year in music ruled by women. Looking back at this phenomenal year, we can think of the biggest hits and notice one major similarity–they had female voices singing them!) Their massive releases ruled radio waves and iPod playlists for the greater majority of the world’s music lovers. What was notable were the releases by five female juggernauts–Beyonce, Adele, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears & Rihanna. In retrospect, which of the DIVA5 (see what I did there?!) fared best? Whose album is ranked dead last? Let’s proceed…

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“The Year of Hibernation” is the name of Youth Lagoon’s debut album on Fat Possum records. 22-year-old Trevor Powers (Youth Lagoon’s real name) could not have named his album more appropriately, mainly because it is the perfect album to fall asleep to. That is not necessarily a good thing, though. The album starts out enjoyably, with vibrating synths, relaxing bell-like whistles, and subtle percussion, and then continues to be just enjoyable throughout the rest of the 8 tracks. The album’s quick plateau becomes its weakness; it never climaxes or grows beyond a constant point of complacent pulsation. The record does well in being consistent, but it becomes so consistent that it eventually becomes boring; this entire album could actually just be an 8-part song.
Sometimes, minimalist songs are effective in highlighting an artist’s vocals and lyrics. But the filtered vocals that make the lyrics indecipherable throughout each track don’t really help or add much to these songs.
On its own, however “Daydream” (#5) is a stand-out track, a perfect capture of soothing synth pop. And Trevor Powers does deserve some credit for recording a full length LP in his bedroom and quitting his job at Urban Outfitters, where these songs are very likely to be put into shopper-friendly rotation.

Stand-out tracks: “Daydream,” “Montana,” “The Hunt.”

Grade: C+

The Drums, Portamento

Portamento is the second album by the American indie pop band The Drums, released September 2^nd of this year. I came across this album by surprise having never heard any of their music, and Portamento really began to grow on me.  The Drums have this sort of up-beat crossbreed of post-punk and indie rock and pop, and throughout this album I couldn’t help but hear the Joy Division influence slightly here and there, especially with tracks like “Please Don’t Leave,” “If He Likes It Let Him Do It,” and “I Need A Doctor,” maybe not so much the vocals but definitely the driving force of the songs reminds me of Joy Division. Portamento being the first album I listened to by them, I felt the need to listen to their first made self-debut album. Comparing the two, I can see a slight shift in these two albums with more catchiness and hooks, and even more seriousness in their lyrics. This album concerns a lot of themes of religion and being broke, while I can’t help but only remember them wanting to go surfing in their first album. This maturity really intrigued me, and I enjoy the direction they’re going and their growth. I can also sense more boldness in this album compared to their first album, and overall more confidence.

I first I heard of this band was when their single “Money” came out from this album. I was really impressed by their spunk and energy, so that made me excited to hear the rest of the album to see how it would grow after this one song. However, after I listened to the entire album, I was left initially a little disappointed. There were some aspects I was concerned about with this album. My main dissatisfaction with the album was there was little variety in each song structure throughout the entire album. A lot of the songs sound similar and have the same fast and up-beat guitar strums, and the drum parts are kind of hard to distinguish in almost every song. Although at first I was not immediately in love with this album, after a few listens, this album grew to be one of my favorites of 2011. It may be consistent and a little boring due to its consistency, but that’s sometimes needed and necessary, and it happened to be the album I really needed and I soon appreciated this consistency in this album.  It is now difficult for me to not like any of these songs on the album because the more I listen to it; the more I look at the songs individually and sense the subtle variety in every song.

Some personal favorite tracks of this album:

-Book of Revelation

-Hard To Love

-I Don’t Know How To Love

-I Need A Doctor

-Please Don’t Leave

-In The Cold

Overall, enjoyable album and one of my personal favorites now of 2011. I would give it a rating of +7/10, or light 8/10.

Atlanta’s MonstrO brings together a mesmerizing work of art in their self-titled debut. Composed of ex-members of Bloodsimple, Danzig and Torche, Kyle Sanders, Bevan Davies, Juan Montoya and Charlie Suarez creates a sound that reminds one of 70s hard rock. But that’s not all. By listening to the album, one can hear that this album is influenced by varieties of genres such as Progressive Rock, Psychedelic, Alternative Rock and even Sludge. These elements come together to form a perfect unison to make MonstrO’s debut album enjoyable to listen to.

As stated before, the influence of 70s hard rock is evident in MonstrO’s work. Such influence is most noticeable on songs like “Anchors Up!” and “Solar,” which are composed of catchy riffs that are reminiscent of Zeppelin and Deep Purple. MonstrO also blend elements of prog rock into their music; “Concertina” is a great example that brings together music from prog bands like Rush and hard rock bands like Van Halen while adding Psychedelic music into the formula as well. Some songs like “Apollo” incorporates Sludge, making the song sound atmospheric and dense. By incorporating such element, MonstrO does a marvelous job keeping the album heavy, but not overwhelming.

As a whole, I had a satisfying experience listening to MonstrO’s debuting album. However, that does not mean this album was flawless. “Elizabeth” for example was not as energetic as MonstrO’s other songs and at times sounded repetitive. Nevertheless, MonstrO’s debuting album is an excellent music and they have shown here that they can play smart and unique music.

Grade: B+

T. Machida (DJ Ziltoid)
Metal Manifesto
Saturday 10PM~12AM

Untitled | Image Map

Mixtapes keep musicheads spoiled–supplying us with little treats between albums is the best way to keep us excited and for an artist, staying relevant. They can offer superb work, as artists usually find a freedom sometimes suppressed by music company restraints and such. Check out some mixtapes that continue to give me life:

1 Maluca | China Food

It took only one listen of Maluca’s China Food mixtape to make me wish I was a Dominican chick from NYC spending my Friday nights at some vogue club. You don’t have to feel the same way but you need to know that the explosive album (which is in my top 5 releases of anything in 2010) has put this ’slick Dominican chick’ on the underground alt/dance scene… just don’t be surprised if you catch yourself yelling “WEPA!!” from time to time. China Food is the product of a list of Mad Decent producers and Maluca, a new-age club diva who raps and sings over Latin-influenced dance music and dance-influenced Latin music. Electronic merengue y hip-hop, house, vogue music, punk, mambo… girl does it all. Thematically, China Food takes its listeners on a biographical and sonic journey from Maluca’s point-of-view–seeing where she’s come from, as far as musical influences are concerned, and courtesy of a sample from dialogue in the movie Precious, the whimsical-dance-party-from-the-future she’s heading to. This virtually flawless mixtape’s just a sample of what is to come from Maluca and is surely like nothing anyone has ever heard before!

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On August 2^nd, the Naked and Famous performed a sold out show at the Music Box in downtown Los Angeles. The Naked and Famous are an up and coming New Zealand band, where their debut album, “Passive Me, Aggressive You” instantly peaked at number 1 in the charts.

The Naked and Famous pleased the audience with a full, high-energy performance that got the crowd dancing and air-punching. Most impressing, however, is how the two singers, Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers, are able to harmonize their voices, having them melt together similar to the styles of Romy and Jamie of the English duo the XX.

Crowd favorites included the singles Punching in a Dream and closer Young Blood, which can be found on the popular television shows Degrassi and Gossip Girl. Fans of the band that missed out this round can find The Naked and Famous returning to The Music Box again in October, so be sure to keep checking their website, found below, for more ticket details.

Band Site: http://www.thenakedandfamous.com/

Beyoncé has already reached the pinnacle of success but with the release of her new video for “Run the World (Girls)”, she has everyone buzzing yet again. An artist that can go from honoring Barbra Streisand at the Kennedy Center Honors event to doing the “wobble dance” with strangers at a block party in New Jersey, Beyoncé can do just about anything her heart desires—after all, she runs the world. Her latest video comes from her upcoming fourth album, aptly titled “4.” Set in the Mojave desert with a post-apocalypse feel, Beyoncé is joined in the music video by an army of female dancers and two male performers. The video starts with African-influenced moves (the shoulder dancing courtesy of Ethiopia and the awesome routine with the two men courtesy of Mozambique), which offers a peek at the commanding choreography that is to come. After scenes of burning cars, Beyoncé holding onto hyenas with leashes (all while wearing a stunning dress from Givenchy’s Spring 2011 couture collection!) and a group intimidated looking men, the video kicks into high gear. The power of womanhood unleashes as legions of ‘girls’ in bright superhero capes take on seductive yet strong choreography. If you didn’t think that girls ran the world, then the choreography (the most intense I’ve seen in a Beyoncé video in a while) seems as if it has the power to change your mind. The fists-in-the-air, high kicks, and the incorporation of military metaphors is fierce as hell and almost overshadows the actual song… and one can say that it looks as if that was almost the intention.

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This is the third album to come from the English countryside folk, Wild Beasts, and after the critical acclaim of the 2009 album, Two Dancers, Smother has a lot to live up to. The new album is certainly entitled to equal praise. Each track flows effortlessly from one to the next. The dream-like perfection of the music is immediately evident with the piano in ‘Lion’s Share’, and continues throughout the album, accompanied by the unique vocals of Hayden Thorpe, who provides poetic, heartbreaking lyrics. The lyrics really mean something to the band. The music means even more. The album’s first single, ‘Albatross’ is fantastic, and it will be a sin if ‘Plaything’ is not set to be the next one. Wild Beasts continue to push the boundaries of modern music, and Smother can only be sufficiently described with one word…beautiful.

Top tracks: Lion’s Share, Plaything, Albatross

Not a lot of band can pull off what Septicflesh manages to do. Following their successful 2008 release Communion, Christos, Fotis, Spiros, and Sotiris have created a work of art that can only be called a masterpiece, The Great Mass. Everything works perfectly in this album: the album flows with water-like fluidity, the band members’ technical skills are at their best, and the band’s compositional skill have improved tremendously.

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Cinemetropolis, the highly anticipated third full-length album from the Seattle duo Blue Scholars was released 2 weeks before the planned official release date of June 14^th. In an effort to connect directly with fans, Blue Scholars made the decision to independently release Cinemetropolis with the reasoning, “No record label. No marketing and distribution deal. No middlemen. No bullshit.” They explain the relation between their creative production and the music industry as an incompatible, even unnecessary pairing. Instead, Blue Scholars utilized the online project funding system Kickstarter, through which dedicated fans were encouraged to pledge to the cause with the promise of the digital album weeks before the official June release. The final total of $62,000 significantly eclipsed the original fundraising goal of $25,000.

The album takes inspiration from cinema and its vast influence on modern life. Many track titles represent esteemed individuals, some directly tied to the film industry. (Full track list available below.) Vocalist Geologic explains that the moving image has formed our “real” world so much that it often actually feels more real. The Scholars have plans with directors and filmmakers to create corresponding music videos, short films and multimedia projects, rendering Cinemetropolis a multidimensional, reverse-soundtrack of sorts.

As the third full-length album from Blue Scholars, Cinemetropolis is comparatively more sophisticated than previous albums and EPs, especially the more substantive, potent contribution from the remarkably skilled DJ/Producer Sabzi.  While Cinemetropolis brings Sabzi out from the background, it still showcases Geo’s smart, biting lyrics. Ultimately this makes the album an undeniably equivalent effort that displays a wide range of sentiment, from the sparkly 8-bit in “Cinemetropolis” to the grandiose, dark musing of “Anna Karina” to the tricksy synth and chill beat of the marijuana anthem “Tommy Chong.”

Still, even with the film influence and growth of the duo, the signature Blue Scholar flavor lives on. There remains a clear motif of social commentary, and as always, a rampant Pacific Northwest pride.

The Blue Scholars’ talent and profound motivation to make strong, relevant music for fans justifies high regard, and the skill in Cinemetropolis deserves applause for being an album that can irrefutably be called a work of art.

Track List and Details

Cinemetropolis

Hussein

Fou Lee (Seattle grocery store)

Lalo Schifrin (Composer)

Seijun Suzuki (Film maker)

Anna Karina (Actress)

Marion Sunshine (Actress)

Slick Watts (Basketball player, public figure)

George Jackson (Political activist)

Oskar Barnack ∞ Oscar Grant (Inventor, Martyr)

Yuri Kochiyama (Human rights activist)

Rani Mukerji (Actress)

Tommy Chong (Comedian)

Chief Sealth (Public figure, namesake of Seattle)

Fin

Everyone has a first favorite band. Some outgrow them, some forget about them. Luckily for me, my first favorite band still is a favorite. After over a decade of listening to Death Cab for Cutie and watching them gradually enter the big leagues, I can honestly say that they’re still extraordinary. If you enjoy good alt. rock, or just really good melodies, check out Death Cab’s upcoming album Codes and Keys which will be released this May 31st. It has been three years since the band has released their last album (the infectious Narrow Stairs), and I have no doubt that the band’s seventh album will be equally sensational.

The first released single “You Are A Tourist” is evidence of such sensation; like all of the band’s previous songs, this single feels as if it was carefully packaged with just the right amount of sooth and sentiment so that every fan falls right back into love with the band. If you loved the melancholic bittersweetness of the previous albums, then prepare for more, as this single holds all of the same elements Death Cab For Cutie is usually known for. There is the same Gibbard “ooo’s” and echos, the same detached feelings.

But don’t worry, Death Cab For Cute is still innovative. The single begins with a warped guitar and Ben Gibbard’s voice slightly glazed, signally subtle new changes in the band’s style. There’s also more drumming then guitar work, as evidenced in the harrowing end. Alan Moulder, the great mixer who has worked with other greats like Depeche Mode and The Smashing Pumpkins, is probably one reason for this. He was signed on to help produce “Codes and Keys”, and with his skills and Gibbard’s tender voice, there is no stopping this single.

If you, too, sometimes feel like a tourist in the city you were born, well then make double sure you pick up this album.