Hi, everyone! August was another really solid month of listening, and I’m excited to share some of the artists and tracks I was spinning this month. With the final quarter of music beginning soon, it will be exciting to see what kind of music it will hold!
The Big Day- Chance the Rapper
The much awaited debut full-length by the Chicago rap mainstay dropped in late July, and I was pretty excited to check it out. However, I was sorely mistaken after a full listen-through. I don’t know what the hell went wrong, but there’s a lot. Whether it was Chance being off his usually dominant rap-game, the quirky instrumentals that didn’t fit with his style, or even his diverse selection of feature artists… all in all, every aspect of this record was butchered... As sad as it sounds, I like some of features on here more than what Chance himself contributed. Artists like Nicki Minaj, John Legend, MadeinTYO and DaBaby have some pretty sweet stuff on this and actually make this project slightly salvageable. He experimented so many different ideas out on this album, it’s more of a 77-minute borage of ideas than a coherent studio record. I know full well that music critic Anthony Fantano tore this record to pieces in his review, but I wouldn’t say it’s deserving of a 0/10. Even Pitchfork gave it an average score at slightly below a 7. Yes, I’ll say this isn’t as high quality like past tapes Acid Rap or Coloring Book were, but I at least saw a decent musical moment here and there. Songs like “Eternal” or “Slide Aroumd” are actually not half bad tracks. However, Chance’s music-making ability on here is not as sharp and it seems like he’s become very detached from the entire process. It’s safe to say he didn’t have a Big Day with this record’s release. 2.5/10
Nothing Great About Britain- slowthai
Released a few months ago, I’ve heard some good things about this record from so far. I was a big fan of fellow UK rapper Little Simz’s record earlier this year, so I figured I would check this album out as well. While I thought a lot of the stuff on here had promise, I still think the Brit rapper still needs to find his stride. I think most of the writing and flow on here are pretty solid, the biggest “make or break” for each track was the general production and beatmaking. While most of the beats were relatively grimey and lo-fi, I think that the ones with busier instrumentals and drum beats didn’t really suit his style all that well. On the other end, the ones that were made with softer pianos and sounded more gentler weren’t really bringing out the best of his abilities either. On the production side of things, the overall mix of this record is kind of crappy. Some beats were much louder than others and overtook slowthai’s overall rapping style, and some of the tracks seemed very condensed and not thoroughly created. From listening to this album in its entirety, I’ve concluded that slowthai sounds the best when there is a clear quilibrium of instrumentation and backbeat. As I touched on earlier, these tracks shouldn’t be too loud to the point where you can’t hear him. Songs that did this very well were “Dead Leaves”, “Rainbow” and “T N Biscuits”. While I may seem like I’m getting nit-picky with some of the smaller stuff, I felt NGAB prsented some very promising tracks that will advance the reviving UK rap game. 7.5/10
Morbid Stuff- Pup
I’ve been looking for some new punk records to check out, and I finally struck gold when I listened to the newest album from these Canadian rockers. I saw a lot of buzz around this record earlier this year, and I would say all of it was much-deserved after giving it a full listen. I thought that these guys would be a newer version of the BC rockers Japandroids, but I wouldn’t say that was necessarily the case with them. I really liked a lot of the technicalities this album, and they offered a newer and fresher taste on punk. Whether it was the rebellious lyrics, fuzzy guitar riffs, and hard-hitting PUP seemed to hit their stride with this record. While I still think some of their stuff can get a bit overbearing at times, I think songs like “Morbid Stuff”, Closure” or “Sibling Rivalry” are some of the better punk songs I’ve heard in recent memory. While Morbid Stuff may not be the best record I’ve heard all year, it does a great job in paving the genre of punk for the future. 7.5/10
Infest The Rats’ Nest- King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
I guess I had forgotten that King Gizzard was releasing a new record this year, because I was surprised to see a new LP pop up in my Spotify feed in mid-August. After my disappointment with Fishing for Fishies, I was hoping that this would be a step in the right direction. Despite being more of a metal record, every minute of this record is filled with energy. It feels like a throwback to their earlier records, which have a sonic similarity to this record. Whether it’s the noisy, frenetic, guitar lines, the strong drum beats keeping every song moving, or the primal vocals of Stu Mackenzie, Infest the Rat’s Nest is a dramatic improvment over its last few releases. I loved so many of the songs on here, but I’d have to say my favorites were “Planet B”, “Venusian 1” and “Self-Immolate”. They’re some of the better Gizz songs that have been released in a while. and maybe some of the best in their entire catalog. Like I said, this record is a great nostalgia trip back to their earlier stuff. I’m super into their more noisy records, so that’s why I loved so many of the cuts on here. When I thought hope was lost for these guys, the Aussies returned to their roots, and it worked out in the end. Every band has hiccups in their career, but King Gizzard has rebounded back much better than others. 8.5/10
Bandana- Freddie Gibbs and Madlib
This duo released Piñata five years ago, and I was a big fan of that record. I’ve had a few people tell me this has been one of their favorite releases of 2019, so I knew I would have to see what all the hype around it was. Overall, I thought this record had a lot of very musical moments. Madlib is a very respected producer, and one I typically enjoy listening to. His beats were fresh and went well with Gibbs’ style of rapping. I love Freddie Gibbs’ lyricism, as time and time again he proves how extensive he can get. Not going to lie, but I definitely spent a lot of time exploring the Genius annotations for all the brilliant references he sprinkled into a lot of the cuts on here. On the logistics side of things, I’d also like to bring up the some great guest verses from guys like Pusha T and Killer Mike on “Palmolive”, not to mention Anderson Paak lending his vocals to “Giannis”. While those are both awesome tracks, I’d say that my personal favorites were “Half Manne Half Cocaine”, “Flat Tummy Tea” and “Situations”. They all showed Gibbs at his best lyrically, and Madlib at his best instrumentally. In sum, Bandana proved that these guys could work in harmony yet again to produce another memorable rap record. 9/10
SONGS OF THE MONTH
Hesitation- Hot Flash Heat Wave
Can’t Stop Your Lovin’- Poolside
Opus 17- Dustin O’Hallorhan
Can’t Get Enough- J. Cole
Situations- Freddie Gibbs
Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot- JPEGMAFIA
The Second Time Around- Shalamar
T N Biscuits- Slowthai
Slippery- Migos
Planet B- King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Sorry content has been on the dryer side lately, but I have some good stuff in the works. Expect a Bazzcast or two in the next three or four weeks, maybe a few interviews, as well as a possible op-ed. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you continue to keep supporting bazzreviews!
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