Hi, everyone! I just want to say, July was a great month for music. I'm really happy with the diversity of records that were consumed, and some of the tracks I enjoyed were a lot of fun, too! It's crazy to think that we're heading into the final four months of 2020, and crafting a "mid-year" list of albums and songs has not been easy. Anyways, without getting much more sentimental, here is the list of albums I checked out in July. Happy listening!
grae- Moses Sumney
As many of the singles were released to high praise from various outlets, and the full album getting honored Best New Music from Pitchfork, I definitely went into this record with high hopes. The North Carolina singer/songwriter is currently signed to the incredible independent label, Jagjaguwar, where he is labelmates with indie legends Bon Iver, Sharon van Etten, Angel Olsen, and countless others. With some big shoes to fill, it’s safe to say that Sumney turned some more heads his way on his second full-length outing. He certainly makes a big statement on the production side, and he does have some absolutely gorgeous vocals across the record. The big question here… was it my thing? Well, not necessarily. It’s a really unique listen, but it’s such a stark contrast to his debut, Aromanticism. I loved the softer soul/folk influences across that project. On grae, however, I spent a majority of the runtime waiting for something to develop. You’ve got “Cut Me,” “Virile,” “Gagarin,” three great songs on the front end of things. Then, it feels like dead air for the majority of the middle stretch. Nothing is memorable or relistenable in that twenty-five or thirty minutes; it’s just composition after composition with an abject amount of experimentation. I feel like there are so many tracks I could name here, but I think my biggest objections were with “Conveyor” and its successor “boxes”, plus “Two Dogs” later on. It also doesn’t help that there are an ungodly amount interludes in this frame. I get it, it’s a double album and you have more room to do that. Many of you will know damn well how much I hate when artists go ham with a lot of shorter bits. It feels like we’re being cheated out of a full experience, if that makes sense. If I were structuring this album, I would have kept, at most, maybe one or two. On a more positive note, I will contend that he makes a rally on the back half. “Polly,” “Bystanders,” “Me in 20 Years,” “Keep Me Alive,” and “Bless Me,” are really reminiscent of his debut. I feel disappointed that I couldn’t get into this record. I don’t know whether this album needs more time to grow on me or whatever, but in my eyes, it got major overhype from a lot of media outlets. Let’s just say there are some better records to listen to right now than grae. 6.5/10
Hot Pink- Doja Cat
This just in: I am reviewing a pop record. Details will be on the 11 o’clock nightly news. I figured this would not only be a nice diversion from a lot of the heavier content I’ve been consuming lately, but it’s also because, dare I say it, I actually… like Doja Cat? The followup to her freshman effort has produced some memorable singles, with equally as many memetic moments. Whether it was telling the Internet she would reveal her breasts to the Internet if her single “Say So” topped the Billboard Hot 100, or “Cyber Sex” having enough sound variations on TikTok to cobble dogs with, the LA pop star has been on an absolute tear throughout the music landscape in the eight or nine months since Hot Pink dropped. For a mainstream pop record, I will concede that was a fun listen overall. The content is surprisingly good, and it satiated my “pop music triangle” theory. In the triangle, the three criteria for me are the music being simple to sing to, dance to, and relisten to. No matter how many times I’ll hear “Say So” or “Like That” (arguably the two best offerings on Hot Pink), it doesn’t ever lose that vibe I got on the first listen. On the note of vibes, it’s clear to see Doja relies on aesthetics for many of these tracks to work. I don’t view that as an inherently bad thing, though. She manages to back up the production style by remaining versatile vocally across the project as well; when she wasn’t utilizing her signature childlike, falsetto delivery, she was also able to string together some decent rap verses on a fair amount of cuts. Along with the aforementioned singles, everything seemed to click on tracks like “Won’t Bite” with Smino, the hyperpoppy “Bottom Bitch,” “Talk Dirty,” “Addiction,” and the song that started all of her internet fame to begin with- “Juicy” with Tyga. There’s so much to love about all of those cuts, but I think that Doja still had a few places to improve. Like I mentioned earlier with “Cyber Sex,” I really can’t get over the fact that I’ve heard so many memes for it. I feel like I automatically associate the song with having some joke from a movie or TV show playing under it. More importantly, it isn’t Doja at her best. Additionally, “Rules,” “Streets,” and “Shine,” towards the tail end of the project would not be ones I’d rush back to listen to, either. Since Hot Pink was released within the period of Grammy eligibility, I would not be surprised - nor disappointed - to see Doja have a few pieces of hardware after that ceremony. This is easily one of the best pop offerings I’ve heard in quite a bit of time, and the Internet support she’s received begs the question for why we need more pop stars with a personality like hers. 8/10
Supreme Clientele- Ghostface Killah
On the subject of rare, special interest records, here’s my biannual review of a project from the Wu-Tang extended discography. In January, I finally sat down to listen to Method Man’s Tical, one that I wasn’t a massive fan of. This, on the other hand, is one that I’ve been wanting to listen to for quite a while. It’s a project that has been regarded as one of the best albums of the 2000s- with some music pundits calling it one of the greatest rap albums ever made. Serving as a followup to his 1996 debut, Ironman, Supreme Clientele makes a case for why Ghostface Killah is one of the best members from the Wu-Tang Clan. I’ve enjoyed his lyrical contributions on a lot of different Wu-Tang projects. His flow is so dope, and you can always tell when it’s him on the mic. It seems as if he was a massive influence on more contemporary figures like Westside Gunn or Action Bronson; his style sounds quite similar to what Killah aimed for on these projects. I think you’ve also got to give credit to de-facto Wu-Tang leader, RZA, for his awesome production on here. He’s served as an executive producer for many of the members on their outings, and his compositions across the record are some of the best he’s ever done. Tracks like “Nutmeg,” “One,” “The Grain,” “Mighty Healthy,” “Stay True,” and “Wu Banga 101” were all really strong lyrically and musically. That being said, some tracks tended to be mixed a little more poorly than others. Ghost felt a little bit weaker on cuts like “Apollo Kids,” for I felt like his verses get swallowed up by the overpowering beat. “We Made It” was another instance of this. I also didn’t like the inclusion of the three dialogue-filled interludes here. I get it, it’s used to tell a story, but I really have never been a fan of artists using them. For example, take a look at Kanye’s earlier projects, The College Dropout or Late Registration. Both extensively utilize these “skits” of sorts, yet Yeezy never used that idea again after those projects. They ended up getting scrapped from vinyl releases, my guess is for time’s sake, and I think that idea applies here. But I digress. In sum, Supreme Clientele perfectly balances Killah’s incomparable flow and RZA’s god-tier production. This is a record that has become a surefire frontrunner as the best from the Wu-Tang Clan extended discography 8.5/10
Making a Door Less Open- Car Seat Headrest
Though Twin Fantasy was re-released two years back, Making a Door Less Open marks the first new album in four years for Wil Toledo’s stalwart garage rock clan. I was a fan of Teens in Denial when it first came out, and Twin Fantasy ended up being one of my favorite albums of 2018. To say that I was excited about this record would be a bit of an understatement. After diving into this thing, I think the more electronic-driven, high-fidelity sound was one that took me by surprise. For those who have listened to Car Seat Headrest in the past, you’ll know that their mixes tend to run a bit on the noisier side. I know that this record was going to be on the concept side to begin with, as it was exploring Wil Toledo's newly-created persona, Trait. I can’t help but wonder why this change happened so suddenly, yet everything seems to work here. Instead of Wil Toledo’s vocals being very mumbly and distorted, you get to hear his true range get brought out on these cuts. Per usual, the writing is also quite sharp. I really loved cuts like “Weightlifters,” “Can’t Cool Me Down,” “Martin,” both versions of the cut “Deadlines,” and “Life Worth Missing.” If I was just listening to Car Seat for the first time, I would be pretty impressed. Despite it being very respectable that the band embraced this new identity fully, the tracklist has some clear red flags in my eyes. Though the cut rallies towards the final ninety seconds, “Hollywood” felt very harsh and didn’t add much development to the record as a whole. I also felt this way about the track, “What’s With You Lately.” Instead of being incredibly noisy, it only utilizes vocals and an acoustic guitar. For a record that seems to run on the electronic side, I really do not know why this ended up here, either. On the note of electronic vibes, though, the sample-based “Hymn” and the closer “Famous” were ones I really didn’t care for. Again, these two don’t really fit the conventions of what the band was aiming for. It was maybe more for being a statement rather than serving much of a musical purpose. As a whole, I believe Making a Door Less Open was a great comeback record for a group that I’ve enjoyed for quite a bit now. Though I don’t know if this new sound will be a one-off idea, I will be excited to see how the band will play off of this on future records. 8/10
A Written Testimony- Jay Electronica
By my understanding, this record is one that has been long-awaited. Thirteen years removed from a debut mixtape and ten from signing with Jay-Z’s entertainment group, Roc Nation, the mysterious rapper and producer finally put his debut out in March of this year. I hadn’t really considered listening to this project until I had heard a few music friends of mine talk it up. Right off the bat, it’s clear to see that Jay was a disciple of J Dilla’s signature jumpy production style. Add that with some very psychedelic instrumentals, and you’ve certainly got a pretty unique style going on Even though it’s got a lot of special components, I really felt a little bit let down with the product on display. I, for one, think that some of Jay’s raps on here are definitely kind of bizarre and didn’t sit too well with me. I guess the biggest surprise for me was that Roc Nation’s founder, Jay-Z, ended up contributing a hefty amount of the weight on the rapping side of things. I haven’t bought into the whole “Jay-Z is amazing” spiel, but I admit it was cool to see that he’s still got some gas left in the tank at age 50. Hov is featured on nearly every track here, but it’s strange because this wasn’t even marketed as a collab record. Hell, according to the liner notes, all of his efforts went uncredited. Anyways, let’s get into some actual criticism. I think Jay-Z’s verses on “Ghost of Soulja Slim” really carried the track, but other than that, there’s not much to salvage from it. “The Blinding” is okay, too, but it feels a little all over the place. Not only with the instrumental or Jay’s verses, but the random, and very ill-advised Travis Scott feature completely soured the track for me. Later, on “Universal Soldier,” we see Jay yet again falter on the rap side of things, and it was more of the same on the follow-up, “Flux Capacitor.” Throughout the messiness of the project, I think the songs that did stand out to me are really, really well-done. The more downtempo tracks like “The Neverending Story,” “Shiny Suit Theory,” (which, by the way, was made back in 2010) “Fruits Of the Spirit,” “A.P.I.D.T.A” is where Jay’s lyrics and production hit very hard. I think if he had gone down the more mellow side of things, it might have fared a little bit better for him. Instead, A Written Testimony makes Jay Electronica look very distant. On a project that’s supposed to be centered around him, it’s like he was playing second fiddle to his own boss vocally. On the production side, some of the cuts just did not click at all and made it hard to get into the record as a whole. While I’m glad I checked this out, I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to this as often as I would with other rap records from 2020. 6.5/10
Circles- Mac Miller
This is my first dive into anything made by the Pittsburgh rapper/producer, and he is an artist that I have been wanting to get into for a while. Aside from any unreleased music Mac has made, this will be his sixth - and final - studio album. Miller tragically died in September of 2018 due to an accidental drug overdose, but the record was released posthumously in January of this year. I went into this as blind as possible, and I think that was a very good choice on my end. I know that Mac is, by trade, a rapper, but little did I know he was going to be dabbling in the soft rock/acoustic headspace on this record. I know that a lot of mainstream rappers have attempted to go down that rabbit hole before, most notably Kid Cudi and Logic. On Circles, it doesn’t feel like an attempt to capitalize on his fame by arbitrarily switching genres. Everything that went into this record is so genuine and effortless for Mac, like he’s done this for his whole career or something. I’m sure some of you have seen Anthony Fantano’s track review of “Good News,” which famously made him break down into tears. I won’t lie when I say that I was pretty damn close to doing that a couple of times. It is such an emotionally draining project, with key themes of healing, loss, and forgiveness across the album making this serve as a true send-off and goodbye to his fans. I will again use the example of capitalizing on fame here. You see the estates of Juice WRLD and XXXtentacion’s constantly shelling out “posthumous” records that are just a bunch of unreleased leaks. I’m not entirely sure if I’ve got the facts right, but I would not be surprised if about 95% of their dedicated fanbases have already heard those cuts somewhere on the Internet. I know I’m getting tangential here, but I am genuinely serious when I say that Circles is toeing the line of perfection. Other than the rap-oriented tracks “Blue World” and “Hands” being a little out of place with the softer vibe on here, EVERY DAMN TRACK hits. The title track, “Complicated,” “Good News,” “I Can See,” “Everybody,” “Woods,” “That’s On Me,” “Surf,” and the closer “Floating” are easily some of the best songs I’ve heard in 2020. At the moment, this might be the best record of 2020. That may change, and maybe my rating will change, too. I was blown away with the quality of this project, and it already goes down as a timeless record in my books. Rest in peace, Mac. Thank you for leaving something amazing in your memory. 9.5/10
SONGS OF THE MONTH:
Be My Baby- The Ronettes
Shiny Suit Theory- Jay Electronica
800db Cloud-100 gecs
3.214- Madvillain
Move Your Feet- Junior Senior
Soap Disco- Kara’s Flowers
Wildflower- Hot Flash Heat Wave
The Difference- Flume
Good News- Mac Miller
I Wish- Skee-Lo
So, do you agree with my takes? Was there an album you thought should have been rated higher, lower, or one I should be reviewing? If so, feel free to reach out to me! I've always loved having musical debates, and it's a bummer that people haven't been taking much advantage of it. Give me a follow on Instagram, @bazzreviews, or shoot me an email (bazzreviews@gmail.com) to chat more. In the meantime, stay safe, be well, and hope to see you consuming more bazzreviews content down the road!
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