Hi, everyone! I'm sorry that July has been kind of a slow month in terms of overall posts, I just haven't been getting any good content as I once had. I've been reaching out to a lot of bands, but haven't heard anything back from a lot of them. I hope that August will be a different story. In the meantime, July has been a pretty fun month of listening, as I heard a lot of awesome new records and songs. Check 'em out below!
Nothing Happens- Wallows
I’ve seen potential in the singles that I’ve heard from these guys, so I decided to give their debut a full listen. After a first listen, though, I saw a few problems with this record. I think the group tried to experiment with a lot of different styles on here which I saw as risky. Sure, they still have a lot of time left to grow and work out their style, but I would think they’d have wanted to hit their stride with this outing. For the majority, Nothing Happens is your traditional “bedroom pop”- or indie garage rock album, and follows the DIY trend that has become popular in recent years. I believe that there are a fair share of solid tracks, but I thought as if the group had a few arbitrary tracks that I became forced to sit through until I waited for another “garage rock”-type track. When Wallows sticks to the garage rock sound that made them popular, it works. In fact, my favorite songs from this album were “Scrawny”, “Remember When” and “I’m Full”. I like them not only because they’re done in that style, but they have some really sharp songwriting by all members. Plus, when they’re at their best, there are some outstanding riffs by guitarist Braeden Lemasters and drummer Cole Preston. While I do feel that Dylan Minnette’s trio is heading in the right direction, I feel like they should not divert away from their OG sound on their next record. If they do that, good things will be happening for them. 7/10
Cuz I Love You- Lizzo
Lizzo is becoming a new superstar in pop music, and though it CILU was released earlier this year, I knew it was time to review it. With the rise of her viral single, “Juice” this year, listening to this record in full really proves that Lizzo has a lot of versatility and power as an artist. I really liked a lot of the cuts on here, as she proved that she is able to work in many different genres and be successful. Whether it was synthpop, rap, or R&B, she’s mastered it all. Not only is she a talented singer, but her songwriting is incredibly strong as well. She puts some badass, female-powered lyrics in her songs, and I see that as a very good choice on her end. Once I finished listening, I realized that Lizzo reminds me a lot of another female singer I enjoy, Kali Uchis. It may be an unusual comparison, but I think both excel because they’re very versatile and are really solid songwriters. Almost every song on here was great, and there weren’t many that I didn’t like. While the powerhouse “Juice” is a great song in its own right, I came to enjoy other gems like “Truth Hurts”, “Tempo”, and “Soulmate” were really sharp as well. I came into this album thinking it might be a dud, but the tides quickly turned as I got deeper into this project. All in all, this album has been one of the biggest sleepers of 2019, and one all music fans should be listening to this year. I think Lizzo is heading the right direction with her music, and will quickly become a stronger voice in the female music-making community. 9/10
Cease and Desist- BLARF
This is the debut record from Eric Andre’s alleged alter ego, BLARF. I’m a huge Eric Andre fan, so I knew I needed to dive into this project after it was released. After listening to this project in full, I had a sudden revelation. Personally, I think Eric Andre should pull a Joji here. I see a huge opportunity for him in this situation. Like Joji, he should completely abandon his comedy career and convert to making music full time. I was completely blown away with what he was able to do with this record. BLARF’s sonic direction with this album is if the Avalanches met Death Grips. It’s loud like Death Grips’ The Money Store, but he uses samples to create entirely new songs like the Avalanches did on Since I Left You and Because I’m Me. I’m fans of both groups, which is why I became so drawn to it. The rich soundscapes that resulted of this music melting pot are nothing short of amazing. Songs like “Save It Babe”, “Banana” and “I Worship Satan” are some of the best this album has to offer. Its glitchy production, smooth samples, and loud instrumentals make these tracks truly a cinematic experience. Mark my words, everybody: Cease and Desist will manifest itself into a modern classic, and will shape the way music is made for generations to come. It may seem like an eyesore to some, but don’t be misled. I will be coming back to this album for a long, long time. 11/10
Anima- Thom Yorke
This record was released late in June, and it caught my eye immediately. While I may not be the biggest Radiohead fan out there, I figured I’d check the newest project of the band’s frontman. After a full listen, this outing left me feeling pretty underwhelmed. Going into this, I was expecting Yorke to have put out something akin to Radiohead. However, I was taken on a 47-minute journey into intricate and experimental tunes. That’s all well and good, but the biggest problem I had with Anima was its lack of consistency. I would hear a decent track here and there, but then the quality would significantly drop off for seemingly no reason. For example, the exceptionally beautiful “Dawn Chorus” was followed up by more dull tracks like “I Am a Very Rude Person” and “The Axe”. With this album only having nine songs, I would think that a veteran artist like Thom Yorke would want to put his best possible work on display. As a result, the fragments of success on here are overshadowed by a bunch of arbitrary cuts that are not up to par with what he is known for releasing. 6.5/10
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1 & 2)- Raekwon
ORIGINAL: I figured it would be time once again to pay a visit back to the solo careers of Wu-Tang Clan rappers. This month, it was turning the clocks back to Raekwon’s debut and its successor fourteen years later. All in all, this record was pretty solid, and still holds up pretty well by today’s standards. Although this record comes in at 73 minutes long, Raekwon demonstrates how to do a long rap album right. Among Wu-Tang members, his sampling, lyricism and vocal flows put him right up there in the same league as GZA (AKA top tier). While he’s still an awesome rapper, getting fellow Wu-Tang members like Ghostface Killah, RZA and Method Man to add some guest verses only made the tracks on here even stronger. While I do believe the middle part of this record has a few duds, I think that songs like “Incarcerated Scarfaces”, “Wisdom Body” and “Ice Cream” were some of the sharpest solo tracks I’ve heard from any Wu-Tang solo album so far. 8/10
PART 2: After a full listen of OB4CL 2, it’s almost like this is a movie sequel that’s better than the original. The fourteen year turnaround seems to have not fazed Corey Woods. In fact, he outdoes himself in every area that he showed he was dominant on the first record. His flows are still great, and so are his lyrics. Cuts like “House of the Flying Daggers”, “Black Mozart” and “We Will Rob You” bring this point home. Check out all six of the tracks I’ve mentioned, and you’ll be surprised to see this album came out so much later. However, I do think the biggest issue for me over these two releases is quality over quantity. Raekwon likes to throw on some tracks that don’t really add so much overall value to the album. With 24 tracks and coming in at 77 minutes long, it really is a lot to bite into- especially if you listen to both albums back to back like I did. I do think that the first part of this record was a little slow, and it wasn’t until about four to five tracks in before I was fully immersed with the overall record. Nevertheless, the sequel makes a bigger name for itself than its original did. 8.5/10
SONGS OF THE MONTH
Red Bottom Sky- Yung Lean
Six Speed- Current Blue
broken- lovelytheband
151 Rum- JID
竹内まりや - Mariya Takeuchi
Come Down- Wavves
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again- The Fortunes
Tempo- Lizzo
How Can I Love You?- Yellow Days
Dawn Chorus- Thom Yorke
I hope you guys have found some awesome new stuff to check out, and I'll see you again soon with some awesome new bazzreviews content!
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