Hi, everyone! Hope you've all been doing well! Staying six feet apart, I presume? All jokes aside, April was a pretty crazy month. COVID-19 has allowed me to be at an all-time creative high. I've been listening to so much different music, maybe the most diverse I've had within a 30-day span. While content has been a little sparse, I certainly have been maintaining a social presence. If you tuned into my livestreams for the COVID Chronicles with some of my friends like Nacho Cano (Harmless) or Rob Tilden (BOYO), thanks so much for doing so! I also dropped a bazzcast with my man, Pretty Boy Aaron a couple weeks back- I'd love for you to check that out also! Above all, though, I had my first two interviews outside of bazzreviews: one for the Cleveland News Show and another for the Fresh Podcast. Both can be found on any podcast service, so supporting those pods would be all that I ask. Now that I got that out of the way, here are some of the albums and songs I listened to in April.
3. 15. 20- Childish Gambino
This is the fourth full-length studio effort from veteran singer/rapper Donald Glover, and one that took many in the music community by surprise. While Glover explored darker, more soulful music on his last record, Awaken, My Love!, it appears he’s taken another gargantuan musical shift. To put it in more contemporary terms, he’s done what Kanye did with Yeezus or what Tyler did with IGOR. After listening to this album quite a few times, I wasn’t really sure where I stood. It’s indicative on the first few tracks that his mission was to throw loads of experimentation on all elements of this. I don’t think that worked in his favor, though. It feels like he’s trying to make a statement with his music rather than making music people would feel inspired by. Like I said before, we’ve seen this type of style with other experimental R&B and rap records before; it doesn’t feel like he’s bringing anything “new” to the table musically. A lot of cuts feel incoherent and clunky at times, with unusual verses and questionably gaudy production plaguing this new vision the most. If you want to know what I’m talking about, play the tracks “Time”, “12.38”, “24.19”, “32.22”, “39.28”, and “47.48”. Does this really… sound like something Gambino would release? Not to me. Glover just feels like a shadow of what he once was. While there’s some decent cuts on the front end, including “Algorhythm” and “19.10”, he definitely rallies on the second half. “35.31”, “42.26” (better known as his 2018 single “Feels Like Summer”) and “53.49” were some of the highlights. Like I said before, this is one of the most polarizing reviews I’ve written in all of my reviewing history. It’s got a fair share of good moments, but if it’s not apparent now, here is one sentence that basically sums up this review: Because of its unconvincing nature, 3.15.20 is a record that could fade into obscurity a couple of years from now. 6/10
After Hours- The Weeknd
This will be my fourth album of the year from the Canadian singer/songwriter’s discography. I previously listened to his Trilogy collection, which some readers may know that I was quite fond of. I think over the years, the man behind the mask, Abel Tesfaye, has been able to stay fresh. In my opinion, he’s a prime example of someone who sticks to his roots, but can always find new ways to progress his sound to make tracks sound great on every album. On After Hours, it’s no different. We get to hear his signature dark, futuristic sounding instrumentals, but he throws in a lot more trap elements on the mixes. I personally thought that was an exceptional compositional decision. While that wasn’t necessarily the sound on his incredible lead single, “Blinding Lights,” I can say that it will go down as one of the best songs of the year regardless. I also loved what he was going for on tracks like “Alone Again”, “Too Late,” “Scared to Live,” “Heartless,” “Faith,” and “Save Your Tears.” In addition to the trap elements on here, we get a twinge of house/EDM music blended in as well. This can be seen on the Aphex Twin impostor track “Hardest to Love,” “Escape from LA,” and the title track “After Hours.” I didn’t really care for that style all too much, but it’s a small complaint on an otherwise out-of-this-world record. After listening to this project, I can tell you, with certainty, that The Weeknd is just one of the few mainstream artists whose longevity and creativity never ceases to amaze me. 9/10
It Is What It Is- Thundercat
I’ve only heard bits and pieces of Thundercat records past, so this will be my first stab at anything full-length in his discography. I actually had a great time listening to this project. There’s so much to love, whether it’s the sweet synths, thick basslines and groovy drum breaks, it just goes to show how out there Stephen Bruner loves to get. Plus, his silky vocal melodies add another layer of depth to some of these cuts. We see all of these factors align perfectly on “Interstellar Love”, “I Love Louis Cole”, “Black Qualls”, “Funny Things”, even on the lead single supporting this record, “Dragonball Durag” is awesome. In another breath, one could argue that Bruner got lazy. I can see that point, too. On a thirty-seven minute record, there’s at least four or five interlude-type tracks on this project. As I’ve criticized before, if you’re going to make a record short, I don’t want to have a bunch of random interjections distracting me from the flow of the record. In terms of less desirable tracks, I think the only two flops on this thing are back-to-back on the back end- “Unrequited Love” or “Fair Chance”. Again, I want you to take this review for what it’s worth. I haven’t listened to any other Thundercat record in full, so I will need to go back and compare how this stacks up. Other than that, It Is What It Is has a lot of shining musical moments that I will be singing praises for in due time. 8.5/10
The New Abnormal- The Strokes
We’ve spent seven years in the waiting, now we finally got another full-length project from one of my favorite garage rock acts of all time. That being said, it’s definitely a blessing and a curse. The band has mostly been coasting on large festival appearances and tours for the past few years, but they’ve only put out a four-track EP across that span. Frontman Julian Casablancas has been far more active. He’s been keeping up his own side project, The Voidz, through it all. He still sounds really good, too! I thought the promotional material leading up to the record was certainly interesting, “Bad Decisions” and “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus” definitely had some promise that gave me a little more hope for the record. After listening through the record a few times, I was again left feeling a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really triumphants moments on here. The ethereal “Selfless” is a lovely throwback to their earlier work on Room on Fire. That might have been the best track on the record. I also loved the bubbliness in the instrumentals on “Why Are Sundays So Depressing” and the stark contrast of the gloomy, shoegazey delivery by Casablancas on “Not the Same Anymore”. Other than that, the rest of the project feels very jumbled and unsure of itself. I think the title of this record really speaks loud, having a very “abnormal” musical direction. Like we saw with Childish Gambino recently, there was just a lot of experimentation when there didn’t have to be. For example, the very ardent opening statement that is “The Adults Are Talking” sounds like an indie track that was revolutionary… eight or nine years ago. “Eternal Summer” and “At The Door” are nearly the same way, blending an element of electronic music into the mix. As much as I love the Strokes and their music, it was sad to hear them fall flat on this project. While I hope that The New Abnormal will grow on me, I think there wasn’t enough content that makes this album feel relistenable. 7/10
YHLQMDLG (“Yo hago lo que me da la gana”)- Bad Bunny
This album’s been getting a lot of buzz recently, most notably nabbing recognition from Pitchfork as “Best New Music.” Upon its release, it debuted a number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100; it became the highest-charting all-Spanish album in the history of Billboard, which was drawing more interest in me to check this out further. I don’t really listen to much of Reggaeton or Latinx music, so keep in my mind that this is another time where it’s a blind dive into his discography. I’ve only heard him on a few feature tracks here and there. After listening to the project a few times, it had me thinking: man, this Puerto Rican cantante surprised me with his sophomore solo outing. The quality on many of these songs is acutally quite good, better than a lot of the pop offerings out there right now. There are a lot of lovely vocal melodies layered over smooth and airy trap production. I fell in love with so tracks, including the leadoff “Si Veo a Tu Mama,” “La Dificil,” “Pero Ya No,” “Solia,” “A Tu Merced,” “Una Vez,” “25/8,” and “Safaera.” On another breath, I think a lot of these beats and flows tend to feel very CTRL-C, CTRL V all over the record. This project has a total of twenty tracks and a sixty-five minute runtime, needless to say that it can get quite old very fast. There is a stretch in the middle where I cannot escape a redundant reggaeton purgatory, seen on cuts like “La Santa,” and “La Zona,” as well “Que Malo” and “Vete.” To me, it seems like you’re hearing the same song four times over. I also was not the biggest fan of such as “Yo Perreo Sola,” and the collab tracks towards the end of the record. This includes the Spanish Travis Scott-esque feature from Anuel AA on “Esta Cabron Ser Yo,” (for you non-Spanish speakers, do not repeat the word cabron), “Puesto Pa Guerrial,” and “P FKN R.” Again, this is likely another ploy big his studio, Rimas, to generate more revenue for him. For many returning readers, you’ll know how much I hate this process. To avoid ranting any further, I believe that YLHLQMG had some real diamonds in the rough amidst some filler content here. As a bonafide chart-topper, I believe a ten or twelve track record will serve him best down the road. 7.5/10
SONGS OF THE MONTH:
Selfless- The Strokes
When Did Your Heart Go Missing?- Rooney
Beef FloMix- Flow Milli
Robot Rock- Daft Punk
Aunt Leslie- Vulfpeck
Be Nice 2 Me- Bladee
Hello Kitty- Slayyyter
Ramen Waitress- High Sunn
24- IDK
I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City- Harry Nilsson
So, did you agree with my takes? Is there an album that you want me to review? If so, feel free to reach out to me on instagram, @bazzreviews. In the meantime, stay safe, and see you soon with some more bazzreviews content within the coming weeks!
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